RE: [cobalt-users] Re: HACKED! Unable To TELNET in to RAQ3 as adm in or any other user!!!

[Brandon Wheaton <brandonw@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eddie Jones [mailto:ejones@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 2:46 AM
> To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [cobalt-users] Re: HACKED! Unable To TELNET in to 
> RAQ3 as admin
> or any other user!!!
> 
> 
> This is the response I got from Support.
> 
> Eddie-
>         Sorry to take so long to get to you... you are not 
> alone... this was caused by a hacker who has done the exact 
> same thing to other cobalt's like yours. I am attempting to 
> get them all fixed, but I will need  your IP and admin password 
> in order to help.
> Regards,
> 
> Dedicated Hosting
> Support Technician
> 
> My services are not back yet
> 
> I wonder what security fix opened this door? Or will close it?
> 

Hi.

I think it is EXTREMELY important to note here that you should 
not give out your login information to someone calling and 
claiming to be a Cobalt technician who wants to get in and 
check out your system for any reason. If you initiate the  
call to Cobalt and they request your password, you should  
change your password, give them the new one and change it 
again after they are finished. If the techs are as careless 
with people's admin passwords as they are with QA we could 
have huge problem on our hands.

I have had a couple of people mention that "Cobalt" had 
made unsolicited calls them to say that they wanted their 
admin password so they could get in and make sure they were 
not vulnerable to the latest BIND hack. These people are not 
so gullible and basically told the person on the other end 
of the phone to have sex with themselves (in not so many 
words) and called Cobalt to verify that their techs did 
not actually call.

Be aware and do not fall victim to "social engineering" ;^)

Take care.

Brandon Wheaton
UNIX Systems Engineer 
ValiCert, Inc.
1215 Terra Bella Ave. 
Mountain View, CA 94043 
650.280.UNIX 

----
Sure UNIX is user friendly; it's just picky about who its friends are.