Tech Alert Briefing for 10/2/2002

Top 20 List of Internet Security Vulnerabilities Released

The US General Services Administration (GSA), FBI's NIPC, and the SANS Institute today announced a new list of the top 20 Internet security vulnerabilities.

The release of a targeted list of the top network vulneribilities is intended to help network administrators prioritize their efforts to plug common security holes.Many auditors and security managers typically rely on vulnerability scanners to detect network vulnerabilities.Such tools often times report thousands of vulnerabilities across hundreds of machines, potentially overwhelming administrators from focusing and ensuring that all systems are protected against the most common attacks.

The Top Twenty list aims to provide a prioritized list of vulnerabilities that require immediate remediation. The list is sorted by service, because in many cases a single remedy -- disabling the service, upgrading to the most recent version, applying a cumulative patch -- can quickly solve dozens of specific software flaws which might show up on a scanner.The list also includes step-by-step instructions and pointers to additional information useful for correcting the security flaws.

The complete list of vulnerabilities may be found at: http://www.sans.org/top20/


As a service to our readers, we have included the complete list of vendors who provide tools and services for detecting the SANS top 20 vulnerabilities in BOL Vendor Connect, Security - Information Security / Technology category.



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