Y2K -- Internet failure Feb. 29?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

See Carl's posting:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002WEk

If a lot of Cisco routers think 2/29 is actually 3/1, what will they do with packets that are stamped with "yesterday's" date? Discard them as obsolete? The only way to fix the router is to manually reset the date. Is this going to be done on hundreds of thousands of Internet routers?

Will the defective routers only honor each other's packets?

Somebody with expertise in routing should address these concerns for the group. Read the original thread for the technical details of Cisco's Y2K issues. Cisco runs virtually the entire Internet!

-- Ceemeister (
ceemeister@hotmail.com), February 09, 2000

Answers

I suspect that problems with routers are behind the recent spate of hack attacks. See the previous thread on ebay, et all being attacked. It is just too much to retype here.

Speaks to the same issue.

-- pliney the younger (pliney@puget.sound.falling.mist), February 09, 2000.


Pliney,

To an extent, I agree with you. Perhaps it's kindof chicken-vs-egg -- did all of Cisco's recent advisories actually preceed the first of these attacks 9that we know of), or were these attacks exploiting recently-discovered router software vulnerabilities?

I don't know. Cisco configuration is something I am very light on.

The pattern so far is interesting. No non-U.S. sites. No government sites. Only larger ecommerce and enews sites. No word whatsoever on the perp.s -- this I find very interesting, though I have no conclusions to offer.

Now, how many billion is Clinton asking for for that monster computer crime (and surveilance) organization that as supposedly put together just for y2k?

Seeing the stock prices of some of these NASDAQ high-fliers take a serious hit might do wonders for congressional support for that part of his budget, no? Or maybe to justify yet another EO probably already drafted?

-- Redeye in Ohio (cannot@work.com), February 09, 2000.


Oh, one last consideration: does anyone know whose software was running on those various sites? Referring to the web server vendor, for example.

Exploring the idea that the real attack could be on that vendor company. For example, if it's all Netscape stuff, AOL (which owns Netscape) may see it's stock and acquisition plans slammed.

-- Redeye in Ohio (cannot@work.com), February 09, 2000.


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