Domain hijackers

While everyone was worrying about Y2K, wireless ISP Metricom had its domain name, www.ricochet.com, hijacked on Dec. 28. Although it was seized temporarily, the anonymous attack puts even more attention on Internet security.

The attack did not involve hacking Metricom's servers or Ricochet network, but its nearly 20,000 users could have lost inbound e-mail, which was rerouted to an unknown destination. In addition, all Web traffic was directed to a site displaying pornographic material.

"A lot of other companies are vulnerable to this because of the way most domain names are registered," said John Wernke, vice president of sales for Metricom. The intrusion was an Internet security issue, he maintained, because the hackers fooled administrators at domain registrar Network Solutions Inc.

NSI, which could not be reached for comment, offers three security levels for information exchanges between its administrators and the domain name customers. Metricom had been using the simplest level, which can be surpassed easily. The company has since changed its security methods.

NSI reportedly was contacting its customers to suggest further security against hacking.

To safeguard against hackers, ISPs need to make security an issue. "If they are not concerned, then the customers need to be," said Kevin Mitchell, an analyst with Infonetics Research. "ISPs will have to [offer] guarantees that information is not used for other purposes. How do they know they will not be hacked?"