[13464] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: Library Computer Hacking.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven D. Harrell)
Mon Aug 7 20:14:30 2000
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2000 14:17:01 -0400
From: "Steven D. Harrell" <steven@VAHISTORICAL.ORG>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-To: steven@vahistorical.org
Message-Id: <398C5A1D.DF417C73@vahistorical.org>
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I am not part of this group but this message was forwarded to me due to
my responsibilities. To come to a quick point, there are two major
reasons of being hacked. First, the size of your internet connection to
the outside world. The larger the connection, the more useful you
become to a hacker if they can get it. Secondly, how secure is your
firewall or equipment attached to the Internet. If your firewall or
equipment is not secure, than you are a perfect target for hackers. We
have been hacked into and was used for a "spam relay" site. We almost
lost our internet connection because of it. Becoming part of the
internet will always have it's risks and you must be prepared to handle
them. We have invested heavily to protect our site and unfortunately,
we will continue to do so.
________________________________________________________
>After all these years, we are finally going to put our library catalog
on
>the web. That will, of course, mean changes to some of routines --
>particularly in regard to network security. I suspect that some of my
>colleagues will not agree with my assessment but I believe that
libraries
>are just as vulnerable to hacking as any other organization and should
>therefore be as vigorously protected as possible. I recall one
discussion
>where one colleague just did not believe that libraries were regular
>targets of hackers. I only know of one incident personally but I would
>supect that there are many more. With all the hacking stories we hear
in
>hear from the media in today's environment, this seems like a silly
>question -- but would you all agree with that assessment?
>Thanks for your comments and opinions.
>Dean Riley
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Dean M. Riley Phone: 281-649-3000 x2304
>Systems Librarian FAX: 281-649-3489
>Houston Baptist University Email: driley@hbu.edu
>Moody Library
>7502 Fondren
>Houston, TX 77074-3298
>"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty
>'Hi-yo, Silver.' The Lone Ranger."
>All expressed opinions are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of
>Houston Baptist University.
--
Steven Harrell
Building Systems Manager
Virginia Historical Society
428 North Boulevard
Richmond, Virginia 23220
Tel: (804)342-9668
Fax: (804)342-9643
