(Preface: I found the following story written by Hays Goodman of Newspapers and Technology highly interesting, as well as alarming. While it may seem absurd that USA Today could overlook such a blunder, the article illustrates that every computer is vulnerable to similar attacks. This type of situation could potentially damage the credibility of a legitimate business and would certainly cause embarrassment. We recommend that every business have some sort of monitoring, whether it is internal or outsourced. Because the proliferation of security threats is beginning to cause widespread concern among computer users, I would urge everyone to read the article – Kirsten Pickering, Marketing Director).

When USAToday.com was hacked on July 11, 2002, the issue of Internet security was brought to the surface for newspapers once again.

A total of seven pages were altered on the company’s site, including the home page. Fake stories were attributed to The Associated Press, including one about Israel being attacked by Iraqi missiles. The phony stories remained on the site for approximately 15 minutes before they could be removed. USAToday.com said the attack came from the outside, where it penetrated the company’s external firewalls.

The view the article in its entirety, please click on the following link: http://www.newsandtech.com/issues/2002/12-02/ot/12-02_security.html