Computer attacks on companies were up sharply in the second half of 2001, reports a computer security corporation, which admitted it was surprised by the volume of verified cyber-assaults: At least 128,678. The Riptech report, obtained by The Washington Post, said . . .
Computer attacks on companies were up sharply in the second half of 2001, reports a computer security corporation, which admitted it was surprised by the volume of verified cyber-assaults: At least 128,678. The Riptech report, obtained by The Washington Post, said that while few of the attacks detected were a "serious threat," the number should serve as a warning that "the Internet security threat is real, pervasive, and perhaps more severe than previously anticipated."

The increase, if not the number, of cyber-strikes was confirmed by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordination Center at Carnegie-Mellon University, a government-funded operation. It reported 52,658 security breaches and attacks in 2001, up 50 percent from the previous year. The number of computer vulnerabilities reported to CERT doubled.

The Riptech report did not include "worm" attacks -- if it had, the number of attacks would be 63 percent higher. Corporate computer systems are increasing vulnerable to attacks in part because companies are not using security measures readily available to them, said the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, part of the National Research Council.

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