01/29/2001 - Updated 11:16 AM ET Microsoft's Web troubles fixed for now

By Greg Farrell and Jon Swartz, USA TODAY

Microsoft's Internet sites survived the weekend with no major outages, and company officials say the company has already implemented changes to prevent future disruptions. But critics say the software giant's Web woes aren't over.

Microsoft's problems began Tuesday, when technical problems blocked Web surfers from Microsoft sites. Service was restored on Wednesday, but a day later, Microsoft was shut down by hackers, who used fake traffic to prevent other users from accessing the Internet sites. On Friday, hackers struck again.

Microsoft says service was restored by 12:30 p.m. PT Friday and that traffic flowed normally during the weekend. "We're expecting we'll restore confidence to our customers very quickly," says Rick Devenuti, Microsoft vice president and chief information officer.

The outages may have unwittingly exposed a flaw in the company's network design to hackers, analysts say. The software giant's domain name servers, which direct Internet browsers to specific Web sites, were on the same network, making them susceptible to an organized electronic strike.

Other large firms, including America Online and Disney, separate their servers to reduce the threat of a denial-of-service attack.

Once hackers punctured the servers, experts say, there was little Microsoft could do to stop the assault. "It's akin to putting four corporate executives on an overseas flight," says Weld Pond, manager of research and development of At Stake, an Internet-security consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass. "It's an unnecessary security risk."

Microsoft officials say they've already taken steps to distribute the domain name servers so the problem doesn't occur again. "In hindsight, we would handle the architecture on the domain name servers differently," Devenuti says.

Security experts say the incident highlights Microsoft's vulnerability to hackers, who derisively call the software giant the "evil empire."

With thousands of computer servers scattered around the world and its status as one of the most visible companies, Microsoft could be facing a torrent of digital intrusions. "Microsoft is a punching bag for hackers," says Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer at eEye Digital Security in Aliso Viejo, Calif. "Every would-be hacker is going to compete to see what type of damage they can inflict."

"Remember when Bill Gates got smashed in the face with a pie? This is the same thing," says Eric Dezenhall of crisis communications firm Nichols-Dezenhall. "It gives little people a tremendous sense of power to be able to knock a guy like Gates on his butt."

Devenuti says no customer information was exposed during the attack. Company officials say they've stepped up monitoring programs aimed at thwarting denial-of-service attacks before they happen.

Michael Sanders of the FBI's Seattle office says Thursday's attack, like the October attack on Microsoft's internal system, is under investigation, but that the FBI would not comment on its activities.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-01-29-microsoft.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 29, 2001