Developer aims to stop the hackers

By PETER GRIFFIN technology writer

An Auckland-based company is one of only a handful in the world developing systems to deflect the type of hacker attacks that brought down internet service provider Asia Online this week.

But the company's security experts claim that the majority of businesses are helpless to defend themselves from aggressive denial-of-service attacks until a system designed to stop the massive volumes of traffic sent by hackers is available.

Software development company JSD has set up shop in Massey University's Albany-based e-centre, where it is developing NeDeFlect, intrusion, detection and deflection (IDDS) software it hopes to release by October and sell worldwide. JDS has received venture capital from the New Zealand Seed Fund and is working with Auckland University's technology marketing arm, Uniservices.

Denial-of-service attacks, in which hackers send vast amounts of spurious data to an internet server in a bid to cripple a website or internet service, have grown in their sophistication since they were first detected about eight years ago.

Jeurgen Brendel, chief technology officer at JSD, said the latest wave of denial of service attacks, in which US and Chinese hackers traded blows, showed well-funded corporates through to small businesses were equally at risk.

"You really have no option, you have to endure the attack and that's the scary thing about it. There's not really anything they can do at this point.

"The big corporates are trying to equip themselves with more and more bandwidth so it is difficult for attackers to fill their pipes but it's a losing battle," he said.

Internet service provider Asia Online was yesterday licking its wounds after days of sporadic denial of services attacks from hackers that disrupted services for customers, including the Ministry of Health, Carter Holt Harvey and NZ Post.

The company's general manager, Kevin Francis, said services were back to their normal levels, but he was unable to pinpoint where the attacks had come from.

"We've isolated the customer that was sending us all that information and we've closed them down. They are using their alternative providers right now."

Alisha Zanetich, the manager of web design and training company Creative Training, said the defacement of her company's website on Monday evening had brought home the importance of having effective online security.

She said more help from the Government for small e-businesses would be needed before they could meet the extensive costs of securing their websites and transactions.

"There should be a lot more help for small businesses so you don't have to go to the huge expense that big businesses can afford in the way of security."

"If Yahoo can get hacked, how is a small business expected to pay for the same level of security?"