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Were your servers infected by the Slammer worm?
If so, I'm going to rant at you. I really hope that you took note of the cost involved in cleanup. You realize that it would have been cheaper for you if you had only taken security seriously and applied the patch six months ago when it was released, don't you? You gambled with security, you got caught with your pants down. You deserve everything you got, actually, you deserve more than what you got.
Will you now take security seriously? Will you budget for it? Will you hire a dedicated security person? My guess is no, you haven't learned a damn thing. You will continue to blow off security and not apply patches then cry loudly about some malicious worm the next time you are caught with your pants down. You will, won't you?
Why do you do it? Are you lazy? Do you really think you are saving money by ignoring security? Is it too much of a hassle for you to keep up with security issues? Do you not understand them? Well, then hire a damn security specialist. Open that wallet and budget for security. I guarantee you it will be cheaper than cleanup. I also guarantee you that eventually the public will wise up and place the blame where it belongs, not on the worm, but on you.
It's your fault. It's not Microsoft's fault, they released a patch for this issue six months ago. Say it to yourself, "a patch for this was released six months ago and I chose to ignore it". It's not the worm's fault, it would have been a non-event if your servers were patched. Repeat again to yourself: "a patch for this was released six months ago and I chose to ignore it".
Wait, what is that you are thinking? You have too many systems, you cannot possibly know what is running where and what needs patching? Lame excuse. There are tools available that will scan your entire network and provide you with a per machine report on what patches are missing. You don't have to do anything but watch it run, then follow up on the results. If you have tens of thousands of machines you should have a full security staff, failure to have one is sheer stupidity for a large network.
Any excuse you can come up with that is not "I'm an idiot and should have taken security seriously" is a lame excuse. This isn't brain surgery. This isn't even high security. This is taking the time to check your machines to make sure their patch levels are current. This is as easy as just making sure your software is up to date. It can often be done with the click of a button. It is not hard, maybe just a little time consuming, which is why you ignore it.
But, you really do need to take it seriously. Sooner or later the press will wise up. They are going to realize that it's your fault. They will not skip the details that show you ignored a security issue for six months. They will point the finger at you. They'll do this because you will not take security seriously until the press places you in a bad light over your lack of concern about it and you begin to lose customers.
I'm not alone when I say I hope this happens soon. Matter of fact, I wish it was happening now. You deserve to lose customers now because you are going to continue to ignore security. You'll clean this up, then forget about it and continue on business as usual. You are going to continue to be a menace to everyone else on the Net because you are too damn lazy/cheap/apathetic/{insert excuse here} to patch your systems. The next worm, and there will be a next one, will have you infected again, I'm willing to bet on that.
/steve
01/28/2003
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