I.T.S. Core Services Battles Daily with Virus Attacks

IT operations in all enterprises wage an ongoing battle with attacks from hackers and the seemingly endless parade of virus programs. Educational institutions are particularly vulnerable due to the nature of the educational mission. While attempting to maintain open access for the purpose of intellectual inquiry, the collegiate IT department must remain wary to protect the information infrastructure of the institution.

Core Services continues to work on several projects for the protection of the Edison network and data resources. The importance of this activity was punctuated by the recent  attack on our e-mail server by the Nimda worm virus. The Nimda virus is unique in the way it infects a client. The recipient of the infected e-mail does not need to open the attachment in order for the host PC to become infected. The worm uses security holes that have been created by other viruses to infect both PCs and the network. Core Services had prepared for the most recent attack with software fixes from Microsoft Corporation and had maintained daily virus updates from a variety of sources. Unfortunately the Nimda worm virus still made its way onto the server through one or more attack routes and began to do its damage.

In just one day over 7,000 files were infected by the virus on the Edison mail server. By midday Friday the server appeared to be back in operation, but by Saturday morning another infection had occurred. By late Saturday evening, after diligent work by the Core Services staff, all traces of the virus were gone and the server was brought back to normal function. 

Justly concerned about the attack vulnerability, Core Services installed another new software program to help fight the most recent wave of attacks. In the five days since its installation it has stopped over 1,900 attempted virus attacks on the mail server. As ITS continues to evaluate several new strategies to combat the ongoing attacks, college IT staffs throughout the state collaborate through OARNet and other statewide mechanisms to share information on the most effective methods for maintaining the delicate balance between open access and network security.


 

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