“Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) is warning
computer users of “mstream,” a new DDoS (Distributed Denial of
Service) attack tool. The mstream tool is still under development,
but from analysis to date, it can turn any computer into an
unwilling accomplice to a DDoS attack on a Web site.”
“mstream, which was found on a Linux system at a university,
enables hackers to launch attacks from multiple hijacked servers
within one or more Internet-connected systems to flood a victim
with crippling amounts of network traffic. The business impact
of such attacks has the potential to make eBusiness systems
unavailable to their users. The damage from DDoS attacks that
crippled several major Websites in February was estimated to be in
the billions of dollars.”
“CA offers comprehensive and proactive defense against this new
threat with its eTrust suite. eTrust Antivirus also known as
InoculateIT, scans servers for the hostile mstream code, and eTrust
Intrusion Detection detects mstream traffic. As mstream can only be
introduced through outsiders gaining access to guest or public
accounts, use of eTrust Access Control prevents unauthorized
outsiders from gaining access in the first place.”