Attacks like the one against the New York Times should put consumers on alert

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The Syrian Electronic Army’s high-profile attacks against the New York Times and Twitter have drawn a lot of attention — and raised some anxious questions about vulnerabilities across the Web. This type of attack is known as a domain name system, or DNS, hijacking which changes information within the DNS, a system that essentially acts as a phonebook for the Internet by directing users who type in a Web address to the right place. A DNS hijack changes where users get directed when they type in an address.

The SEA used this method to cause mischief and publicize what it was doing, but security researchers said that others could cause more damage than that. For example, F-Secure security advisor Sean Sullivan said that hackers may be able to use this method to redirect users logging into something like a banking Web site to a false version of the company’s log-in screen and trick people into logging in.


Attacks like the one against the New York Times should put consumers on alert