fw: Security Watch Special Edition -- Hack the Network!

[Matthew Carpenter]

Wow...  They're either getting daring up there in Redmond or they're
smoking better stuff than I am.
Well, I suppose they may be anticipating a power outage for the duration
of this event....


-----Original Message-----
July 10, 2002
Security Watch
http://mcpmag.com/security/
http://ENTmag.com

=================================================================
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:
- MCP TechMentor Conf - San Diego - September 3-7
http://www.techmentorevents.com/sandiego/
=================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In This Special Issue:
  -  The Windows Security Challenge is Live
-----------------------------------------------------------------
**The Windows Security Challenge is Live
By Keith Ward

Welcome to this special edition of Security Watch! I'm at the Elliot
Grand Hyatt hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington, site of the MCP
TechMentor Summit on Security. We've been spending the day configuring
our typical Windows 2000 network for security, using industry experts
and standard best practices for hardening.

For those of you unable to attend in person, we still want you to join
in on the action. Starting at 6 p.m. PST today, we invite you to attack
our network -- any part, any time -- until the Windows Challenge ends
at midnight tomorrow, July 11. Any kind of attack is welcome; in fact,
the more creative and aggressive, the better. Remember, we've got some
of the best in the business locking down our network; you'll need to be
good to get in.

The network includes Windows 2000 and XP desktops, and the following
servers: Exchange, IIS, SQL, a file server and two domain controllers.
We have a standard DMZ with a PIX firewall facing the Internet, and ISA
Server facing the internal network. A diagram of the network is
available at http://www.techmentorsummit.com/seattle/overview.asp#. The
diagram is at the bottom of the page.

We have a Web page with a simple guest book application. One caution:
do NOT put sensitive or secret information, such as a password you use
on your network, into this application. Remember, people will be trying
to access the SQL Server that's holding the data.

The URL for the front door of our network is
http://www.windowssecuritychallenge.com. Bear in mind that this link
won't work until approximately 6 p.m., when the network is activated.

Following the conference, we'll be analyzing the Windows Challenge and
presenting our findings on successful and unsuccessful attacks, and why
they were or weren't successful. It will include packet captures, log
files and other information relevant to network security. It'll be an
enlightening report, and will eventually be available for purchase on
CD-ROM.

Please note: Unauthorized intrusions into computer systems are illegal.
We expect the conference attendees and participants in this conference
and Challenge to behave responsibly and appropriately and to confine
their probing and testing to the URL provided for the Windows Security
Challenge. Any conference attendee or participant caught attempting to
intrude upon, disrupt or otherwise "hack" any URLs not provided for
testing purposes will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If
such activities are observed, it may result in the shut down of the
systems provided for this conference, thus depriving all participants
of the unique opportunity this conference provides. Sorry about the
harsh nature of this notice, but it's important to realize that the
purpose of the Windows Challenge is to learn how to protect a network,
not to use our event as a springboard to hack other computers or sites.

I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to attack our Windows
Challenge network. Bring your friends in on a coordinated attack; see
if you can outwit our experts.

Happy hacking!

Keith Ward
Program Director
MCP TechMentor Summit on Security
mailto:keith.ward at mcpmag.com

<Joke of a Security Bulletin SNIP>