Re: [SLUG] Unpatched Linux Systems' Life Expectancy Increases

From: Robert Foxworth (rfoxwor1@tampabay.rr.com)
Date: Wed Dec 29 2004 - 15:41:19 EST


> > Honeynet president
> > Lance Spitzner attributes the lengthening lifespan of the systems to
two
> > things: newer default installations are more secure than older ones,
and
> > attackers are focusing on the more ubiquitous Windows systems.
>
> Honeynet president Lance Spitzner should know that Windows systems are
> actually LESS ubiquitous now than they were three years ago...
>

Like many statistics, this "more ubiquitous" is incomplete. Does
it mean the absolute number of Windows installations that exist (a
number that probably slowly increases over time) or does it mean the
percentage of Windows installations to every installation (Win + Unix +
Mac etc.) a number that I would believe is actually decreasing over
time.

Most of the attacks are automated scripts that seek existing known
vulns e.g. directory traversal, so another useful data bit would be
the percentage of new, original, crafted attacks as a pctg. of all
attacks being seen. I would guess that if the new attacks per unit
of time were to stay constant, then the percentage would decrease
(of all attacks) as the old scripts continue to be run, many from
zombies.

Maybe the Yankee Group can answer this :-)

- Bob sent 15:41 EST

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