I just saw this ad that might interest you guys. This is from the same people that boasted so arrogantly on Usenet how secure their system is and how hackers no longer really can hack, etc. And they invited anyone to attack their system until October 11th. Then they would take it down. Curious to note tho, is that their system was down after that message was posted for most of the time. Atleast from people Ive talked with, they said they couldnt ping it, nor connect to it, much less try to attack it. I think I could save a lot of money, if I were to secure a system by disconnecting it as well. Well, nonetheless, heres the ad. Subject: (fwd) Press Release: Sidewinder Security Strikes Back Sidewinder(tm) press release ---------------------------------------------------------------- N E W S R E L E A S E October 10, 1994 DISTRIBUTE WIDELY THE INTERNET HAS BECOME A SAFE PLACE TO DO BUSINESS Sidewinder(tm) protects information assets from the ravages of the Internet! Security That Strikes Back(tm) The Internet - A Threat Multiplier With 30,000,000 people already connected to the global Internet, millions more want to get on the "Information Superhighway," but the dangers often outweigh the benefits: o Over 1 million computer break-ins in 1992 alone. o Foreign industrial espionage up 400%. o 85-97% of computer intrusions go undetected. o Hundreds of thousands of passwords stolen each year. o Malicious software, Trojan Horses and Viruses. o Disgruntled employees can easily exploit computer vul nerabilities. Connecting to the Internet is a threat multiplier, and in today's hostile, globally networked society, you need the best possible protection you can get. Introducing Sidewinder To help combat the threats posed by the Internet, Secure Comput ing Corporation, the country's largest private information secu rity company, with more than 150 senior degreed security engi neers, has developed Sidewinder. A technological breakthrough in secure inter-networking, Sidewinder represents the culmination of over 250,000 man hours of research and development. Sidewinder overcomes the deficiencies and false promises of conventional firewalls. "We put Sidewinder on the Internet last month to let the hacker community attempt to penetrate the system," said Kermit Beseke, CEO and President of Secure Computing. "Within a two-week period, hundreds of attacks were attempted, and no one got in. In fact, the Sidewinder system captured numerous attack scripts that could easily have thwarted other less sophisticated systems." Sidewinder Capabilities Sidewinder provides all of the capabilities that organizations require when connecting to the Internet: o Active defense mechanism - captures intruders: Side winder has been designed to actively respond to any type of outside attack by a hacker or malicious code. Sidewinder will react to an attack by allowing a system administrator to choose from a range of sophisticated countermeasure strategies: Termi nate the attacker; Give misleading information; Strike back by identifying the attacker for future prosecution. o Content-based message filtering: Sidewinder goes beyond traditional firewalls by incorporating content-based message filtering. Traditional firewalls filter messages based upon the routing address of the message, which can easily be defeated. o Easy access to Internet services: Sidewinder provides users with easy, user-friendly, point-and-click menus to access basic Internet services. o One-time sniffless passwords: Sidewinder provides strin gent user authentication with the LOCKout(tm) security software. LOCKout is a highly secure challenge-response identification and authentication system that replaces traditional passwords. o Defense in depth: With traditional firewall's, once security has been compromised, the entire network is exposed to the intruder. With Sidewinder and it's patented Type Enforcement mechanism, any break-in is limited to the specific assault, and the intruder cannot migrate through the rest of the information infrastructure. Secure Computing also provides a Security Alert Service to any organization that installs Sidewinder. With this Service, organ izations are kept informed about current hacker techniques and attack scripts, as well as other potential risks. Proven Security Solution "Secure Computing has leveraged heavily off of it's patented Type Enforcement technology, which is currently being used to protect U.S. Government classified networks," said Kevin Sorensen, Director of Marketing for Secure Computing. "These sophisticated security mechanisms have been repackaged into the commercial Sidewinder product." Sidewinder not only secures Internet access, it also secures the countless inter-networks which make up the fabric of today's technical business environment. As an increasing number of organizations conduct business and financial transactions on the Internet, security becomes more paramount than ever before. Secure Computing now offers Sidewinder to defend information assets and systems from attack. For more information please contact: Kevin Sorensen Secure Computing Corporation 2675 Long Lake Road Roseville, MN 55113 Phone: (800) 692-LOCK FAX: (612) 628-2701 E-Mail: sidewinder@sctc.com Media Contact: Winn Schwartau Interpact, Inc. Phone: (813) 393-6600 Fax: (813) 393-6361 E-Mail: P00506@Psilink.Com (c) October 1994, Secure Computing Corporation. All rights re served. Product names used within are trademarks of their respec tive owners. -- Christopher William Klaus <cklaus@shadow.net> <iss@shadow.net> Internet Security Systems, Inc. Computer Security Consulting 2209 Summit Place Drive, Penetration Analysis of Networks Atlanta,GA 30350-2430. (404)518-0099. Fax: (404)518-0030