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New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

bleepingcomputer.com

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Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#261

Post by edoceo »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #168
TeMPOraL wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is with the e-mailing part. A mom&pop is unlikely to track you down if you lock out their DB, but they'll likely report you to police if you contact them about it.

Is an email from an anonymous address easier to trace than remote database commands?

Yes. You need good logging on the vulnerable DB to trace the command - and if your DB is vulnerable it's a good bet you forgot the logging too.

Emails have a bunch of info in the headers, so there is more meta-data in the email it self.

Neither is perfect for finding the culprit but one scenario has zero meta-data and the other has some.

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#262

Post by more-coffee »

cdrini wrote: post #222
grahamedgecombe wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK it's probably already illegal under the Computer Misuse Act, as it'd fall under "unauthorised modification of computer material". I assume other countries have similar laws. That said, enforcing it is a different matter.

Yeah, I think enforcement is probably a big part of what keeps the internet a "Wild West" for these cases; and improvements to enforcementability could fundamentally alter what the internet is :/

Yeah, I don't think the internet can be fundamentally altered to the extent that it could be regulated. Unless it somehow becomes a major priority for the world leaders - in which case I'll bet we can say goodbye to any privacy we still had.

It's been said before plenty of times, but I think the solution has to be sought in increasing awareness of the dangers of the internet. Compare it to the electrical grid. 99% of people would not mess with it without consulting/hiring an expert. Not just because it's illegal, but because of the obvious danger. But for the informational grid, "nobody" (exaggerating) cares because they cannot oversee the consequences.

Problem then is, how do you educate people about this... I don't know.

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#264

Post by dehrmann »

TwoBit wrote: post #238
dimitar wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently these guys don't have a firewall setup and haven't heard about private networks and VPNs. reads TFA again Wait, one of the victims is a VPN provider???

I've read that there are now VPN providers that just use someone else's VPN engine. So they don't have to know wtf they are doing.

For a product that's 50% snakeoil and marketing, that approach seems reasonable? It's easier than actually doing the leg work.

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#265

Post by lallysingh »

gwright wrote: post #97
petee wrote: post #5

Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.

Would you feel the same way if someone burned your house down if you left the door unlocked? Would you support the idea of people walking through a neighborhood and checking every door in a similar way? Does your opinion change if it happened in a business district? I think it is fine to argue that doors should be locked but that doesn't mean that a crime hasn't been committed when someone takes advantage of a situat…

The first crime committed was leaving people's data out in the open.

If someone had a list of names/birthdays/SSNs posted on their door, I'm not too unhappy if someone blacks out every line with the word 'meow.'

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#266

Post by edoceo »

AznHisoka wrote: post #211

Is there an inexpensive service out there that does “mock” attacks if you give it a bunch of host names and ports? I know it’s something you could create yourself but would be nice to have a third party try to connect to your databases and immediately alert you if it was able to gain access. Would especially be useful if you were tinkering with firewall/security settings and accidentally opened something up.

Run OpenVAS against your infrastructure. It's free cost, nearly free in time.

Edit: I also do this as a service, have for years, and hammer my own system monthly.

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#267

Post by katbyte »

nxpnsv wrote: post #90
mcv wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find your example very convincing. Any database storing personal data needs to be properly secured, and if that gym also has ID credit card or other more sensitive data, that data might better be destroyed than stolen. If it's a publicly accessible wiki with no sensitive data whatsoever, and that's meant to be publicly accessible, then there's a reasonable excuse for the poor security and it's not helping any…

Why should innocent users be punished? Why not just send a pic confirming you have full db access? This is just unnecessary vandalism.

Because often that doesn’t actually elicit change. Deleting the data over and over does.

Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases

#269

Post by IncRnd »

m12k wrote: post #249
philshem wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The top-voted answer links to this HN page. I'm stuck in an infinite loop.

Nah, you're just in an unbounded recursion - don't worry, I can already now tell you that it ends with stack overflow.

Ha! Clever!
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