But the work was worth it, Stearns said, because of Lion's potentially devastating effects. That kind of power could let hackers delete software, shut down websites, gain access to confidential information, and more, Stearns warns. The worst part of it all, Stearns says, is that even once the virus is detected, it can still cause headaches. That's because determining whether a hacker has actually broken into the system takes more forensic work than most administrators can take on. Known vulnerability exploited The possibility of a dangerous worm like Lion was first put forth in January, when researchers at the Computer Emergency Response Center issued a report warning about a bug in the BIND software that impacted nearly every DNS server, and thus every network, on the Internet.
Lion is the first worm to exploit that flaw.
If you're a security-conscious person you have nothing to worry about. But according to Stearns, the problem is that too many network administrators think keeping up with the latest security patches is menial housework that's beneath them. It's like locking your doors. All Rights Reserved. We respect your privacy .