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April 24, 2003
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Cisco flaw touches Windows servers
A potentially critical vulnerability has been found in Cisco Systems' Secure Access Control Server for Windows servers, which is used to control devices such as routers in large networks.
The buffer overflow glitch may allow an attacker to seize control of the Cisco service when it's running on Windows, according to Cisco. The Unix variant is not affected. Exploitation of the flaw could result in a malicious hacker gaining full control of a target company's security infrastructure, leaving it completely exposed.
"Exploitation of this vulnerability results in a denial of service and can potentially result in system administrator access. Cisco is providing repaired software, and customers are recommended to install patches or upgrade at their earliest opportunity," Cisco said in an advisory released Wednesday. The advisory contains patches for fixing the bug.
The ACS system is used to control routers, firewalls, virtual private networks, voice over IP systems and wireless networks, as well as to provide access policies to users.
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FCC checks out Net over power lines
Moves to plug homes and offices into the Internet via existing power outlets have been given a nudge forward by the Federal Communications Commission.
The agency said late Wednesday it plans to file a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register into the viability of using power lines to provide broadband and Internet services. While it is unclear whether broadband over power line (BPL) will be less expensive to set up than cable or digital subscriber lines (DSL), the inquiry offers the promise of a third way to deliver broadband into the home.
"Broadband over Power Line has the potential to provide consumers with a ubiquitous third broadband pipe to the home," Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, said in a statement. "The development of multiple broadband capable platforms--be it power lines, Wi-Fi, satellite, laser or licensed wireless--will transform the competitive broadband landscape and reap dramatic windfalls for American consumers and the economy."
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Sony warns of profit fall ahead
Sony Corp, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, on Thursday forecast a fall in profits for the current business year as consumer demand stalled.
For the year that started on April 1, Sony projected a net profit of 50 billion yen ($415 million).
That is less than half the worse-than-expected net profit of 115.52 billion yen ($963 million) it unveiled Thursday for the year just ended on March 31.
The forecast is also well below analysts' consensus forecasts of 180 billion yen, according to estimates compiled by Reuters Research.
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'Bunker buster' missiles aim at Moon
Tests have been carried out on ground penetrating missiles using 'bunker buster' technology that could be fired into the depths of dark lunar craters to look for ice.
The proposed mission is called Polar Night, a lunar orbiter that would fire instrumented missiles towards the surface of the Moon.
Tests performed recently in New Mexico have shown that scientific equipment could survive the rapid deceleration of striking the ground and being buried a few metres beneath the surface of the Moon.
The researchers hope that Nasa will approve their mission early next year for a 2007 launch.
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Hotel searches a tricky Web process
Consumers searching for the best deal on hotel rooms on the Internet should shop around, since no single travel site stands head and shoulders above rivals, a consumer advocacy group said Wednesday.
Consumer WebWatch, a project of Consumers Union, said that while the Internet offers cheap fares compared with the system traditionally used by travel agents, travel Web sites do not handle mistakes well and fail to deliver lists of the cheapest hotels without extra clicks.
"We were surprised that the market is so confusing," WebWatch Director Beau Brendler said in a telephone interview.
Site Travelocity offered the best hotel rates more often than competitors Expedia, Hotels.com, Lodging.com and Orbitz, but not regularly enough to make it a one-stop-shopping destination, the report said.
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