To our clients and friends: 

With the recent damaged caused by the “Slammer” or “Sapphire” worm The Intelligence Group would like to remind everyone of the importance of updating software by installing vendor issued patches and updates.  In most cases these are issued by the vendor to fix a security or functional vulnerability in the software code.

Synopsis:  In the case of the “Slammer worm”, the vulnerability existed in a version of Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000 software.  The vulnerability had been publicly exposed approximately six months ago and Microsoft has made a fix available through their website.  A computer running SQL 2000 Server when infected would attempt to contact many other computers looking for the same vulnerability.  This attempt to locate other computers would consume inordinate amounts of Internet bandwidth, causing many institutions and companies to loose their access to the Internet as well as the ability to provide web services to their customers.

What to do:  This latest computer security incident stands to point out the need for users to diligently check for and install all patches, fixes and upgrades provided by the manufacture of the software they have installed.  Failure to do so can make one vulnerable to incidents like “Slammer” where vulnerabilities are discovered and exposed to the public at large.

Our e-Intelligence and Security Group has significant experience helping clients design, refine and update their computer policies to assure that timely updates are installed for the software and computer systems that are mission critical.  For assistance with your program, please contact us.

Contact The Intelligence Group