Here are definitions for some odd words that you may run across in your Internet surfing. The subjects might also be useful as plot devices in fiction. Try an Internet search if you’d like more details.
WarDriving
A hobby, somewhat like bird watching, in which practitioners seek out unprotected wireless networks and map them. Some estimates are that up to 25% of the wireless networks in the U.S. may be unprotected, that is, they lack the recommended security for such setups. Everything on those networks is visible and anyone with the right equipment can view it. The basic WarDriver toolkit consists of a car, a driver, a laptop with a wireless LAN card, some free “sniffer” software, an external high-gain antenna and a GPS receiver.
WarDrivers cruise city streets in their free time logging the locations of open wireless networks, but they usually don’t connect to the networks or try to hack them. Finding a new network to add to their collection is an end in itself. WarDrivers sometimes engage in WarChalking, which is marking the walls of buildings with esoteric symbols. These are based on depression-era hobo marks used to alert hoboes to likely places to find food, shelter, or money, but have been modified to pass along the technical details of exposed wireless networks to other WarDrivers.
Most WarDrivers consider the hobby to be benign. They deny the claims that they are endangering businesses by listing vulnerable networks on their Internet sites. While they agree that vandals or terrorists could use this information to cause trouble, WarDrivers in general say that the real problem is the people who don’t secure their networks properly. Besides, potentially dangerous people already know about wireless network’s vulnerabilities.
The words WarDriving, WarChalking, WarFlying, and WarWalking all probably evolved from the 1983 movie WarGames in which a teen hacker uses his computer to break into a poorly secured U. S. military computer and almost initiates a nuclear war.
DoS or DDoS
“Denial of Service” or “Distributed Denial of Service”. An attack on a business or government Web site that prevents the site from carrying on with its routine activities. Typically the site’s computers are overwhelmed because thousands or even millions of computers under the control of the attackers attempt to access the same site. (This is a simplified explanation of a DoS attack, but it’s essentially what happens.)
DoS attackers gain control of other computers by planting software “worms” (programs) on them without the owner’s knowledge or permission and turning those computers into “zombies”. If you’re hooked to a DSL line and always leave your machine on, you’re a perfect target. Once the attackers think that they have enough worms planted, they send out a command which causes all the zombies to simultaneously access the same Web site.
It may be only a nuisance for government Web sites, but businesses that depend on the Internet for customer sales can lose millions. Everyone should have a “firewall” on their computer to protect it from being turned into a zombie, or worse. There are several software firewalls to choose from, but ZoneAlarm basic is free from ZoneLabs (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp). Go to their site, click “Home/Office Products”, and then click “ZoneAlarm”.
Steganography
A method of secretly hiding information, either pictures or text, inside a computer file. Steganographic software basically intermixes the covert file’s computer code with the visible file’s code. The intended receiver can unpack the hidden code using the same software.
It’s a clever way for spies and criminals to transfer data. Who would ever suspect that the photo of Aunt Martha at the Parthenon contained the blueprints for a classified missile system? Almost any type of file can be used as a container to hide other files. You can embed information in an email attachment and send it in the clear from Internet cafes anywhere in the world with relative safety.
It’s possible for government agents to decrypt such files if they find them, but with millions of email messages being exchanged every hour of the day, the odds are good that no one will notice any particular one. The only tip-off is that a stuffed file can be considerably larger than it should be. For example, if a JPG of Aunt Martha that should be around 40k in size shows up as 400k, government agents may decide to take a closer look at it. The wise spy will split information into many small packets before inserting them into the camouflage files.
Corporations also use steganography for legitimate purposes. “Watermarking” is the practice of hiding copyright information inside a file to combat copyright violators. “Fingerprinting” is a similar technique involving numbers or other distinguishing data used to mark a file as unique so that it can be tracked.
First published December 2002
Copyright 2002
Fred Askew