Looking for a great way to get fired? I can"t think of a better way than to have your network grind to a halt because you failed to patch a well-known vulnerability, and I also can"t think of any more obvious problems than the ones that are on the Federal Bureau of Investigation"s top 20 list of the most dangerous threats to cybersecurity. Let"s face it, by the time a computer problem gets the attention of the FBI, it"s pretty well known, and you only have yourself to blame if you get caught with your patches down.
The top 20 list is actually three lists in one, containing seven general warnings, six Windows NT/2000-specific notices, and seven UNIX/Linux vulnerabilities.
General warnings
The first list is very general. It covers:
Warnings against simply using default installations of operating systems and applications.
Failure to mange passwords correctly.
Having too many network ports open on a firewall.
Poor backup procedures.
Poor logging.
Failure to check and filter for spoofed IP addresses in packets.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) holes (particularly those data collection routines that are often included as samples with Web server software).