Free Newsletters
Technology & Business Daily

InfoWorld
Log-in | Register

Juniper hires Cisco hacker

Michael Lynn picked up just months after revealing holes in Cisco IOS at Black Hat conference

By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
November 07, 2005
 

It looks like there is life after Black Hat for Michael Lynn, after all. The former Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS) researcher has landed a job with networking vendor Juniper Networks Inc. just months after creating an international stir at July's Black Hat USA conference by disclosing information about security weaknesses in Cisco routers.

Free IT resource

Virtualization Insights from Top Experts - Learn how virtualization gets real!

Sponsored by Dell

Free IT resource

TechNet: More ways to know it, share it, and keep it running.

Sponsored by Microsoft

On Friday, Juniper spokeswoman Kathy Durr confirmed that Lynn had been hired by her company, but she declined to provide any other details on the matter.

Lynn was forced to quit his job in order to give the presentation and was quickly sued by both ISS and Cisco. That lawsuit was dropped after Lynn agreed not to discuss the contents of his presentation.

The security researcher has said he gave the controversial talk in order to draw attention to a critical issue in the security of the Internet: security vulnerabilities in the software that powers routers.

"I think I did the right thing," Lynn said after settling the lawsuit. "It was pretty scary, but the real important message was [that] there was a potential or serious problem coming in the future. It wasn't too late to fix it, but you had to take it seriously."

He may have achieved that goal. Earlier this week, Cisco patched a second flaw in the Internetwork Operating System that powers its routers, saying it was related to the research Lynn had done.

A Cisco spokesman declined to comment on Lynn's new job.

 





 

TOP NEWS:


»  Think small with Linutop 2 PC
The tiny, energy-efficient Linux-based Linutop 2 is a low-cost, minimalist PC that is eerily quiet to use

»  Sun technologist: SOAP stack a 'failure'
Tim Bray, co-inventor of XML, prefers REST mechanism over SOAP

»  Software piracy hurts the open-source community too
Many nations are beginning to see stolen proprietary software as a lost opportunity for open source software, whose development can encourage innovation and job growth

»  Intel readies slew of embedded chips based on Atom core
Intel is trying to increase performance and drop power consumption in more than 15 system-on-chips that use the Atom core

»  Microsoft surprise reorganization aimed at online woes
Microsoft's online troubles hint at larger vulnerability; the company is facing challenges in areas that have been a lock for many years

»  Attack code released for DNS bug
Security experts warn that this attack code may give cybercriminals a way to launch virtually undetectable phishing attacks




Solutions to the Toughest IT Challenges in Remote Offices
Though small in size, remote offices face many of the same IT challenges as larger central offices. This Webcast zeroes in on the top line challenges to deliver information that can provide immediate benefits to your business. Sponsor: AMD and Dell

»  Click here to view this Webcast
  Zombie PCs Are Attacking Your LAN
A recent study showed that malware-infected zombie PCs are now a bigger threat to ISPs and Web infrastructure than DoS attacks. As this brand new IT Strategy Guide explains, an increased use of peer-to-peer techniques by the attackers has made it harder to fight back. Download now, compliments of Verio:

»  Click here to download now

- Special Advertising Partners -
WHITE PAPERS
 

» Technology White Papers Library

Technology White Papers by Topic

Technology White Papers E-mail Alert

Find out when the latest white paper is available:
 
 
INFOWORLD MARKETPLACE
 
» BUY A LINK NOW
 

FIND PRODUCTS AND COMPANIES
» COMPLETE PRODUCT GUIDE



TECHNOLOGY INDEX
• Applications
• Application Development
• Security
• Networking
• Wireless
• Platforms
• Hardware
• Data Management
• Storage
• Web Services
• Business
• Telecom
• Professional Services
• Standards

TECH WATCH 


What's the 411 on GOOG-411?
Just as Google has become synonymous with "performing a Web search," 411 is understood to mean "information" -- as in "what's the 411?" I was thus surprised to discover, from a billboard, no less, that the king of search is taking on the ...

Apple HTML source reveals 'iPhone Extreme'
"This one's a stretch..." reports AppleInsider. Um, yeah. Reporting on HTML code sightings of product names could be called a stretch, but iPhone Extreme has a ring to it. Now, that sounds like the product Apple should have released first, rather ...

COLUMNISTS

Unified under law
Ephraim Schwartz's Column and Blog (InfoWorld) - In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could...
» MORE COLUMNISTS

MORE INFOWORLD BLOGS


Open Sources 
Product Management
When I joined MySQL four years ago, there was quite a lot of debate about product management. We didn't actually have ...

Zero Day 
Botnet herders tending smaller flocks
New research backs up the theory that botnet operators are keeping their networks smaller in a continued effort to keep ...



• Advice Line
• Database Underground
• The Deep End
• Enterprise Mac
• Geeks in Paradise
• Grid Meter
• The Gripe Line
• InfoWorld Daily
• Inside IT
• IT Troubleshooter
• ITXtreme
• Open Sources
• ProdBlog
• Real World SOA
• Reality Check
• Security Adviser
• SMB IT
• The Storage Network
• Tech Watch
• Virtualization Report
• Zero Day

ADVERTISEMENT


RESOURCE CENTERadvertisement 

GOVERNMENT IT & POLICY
'If you don't go after the network, you're never going to stop these guys. Never.'
From the State Department, All the News for Inquiring Minds
TechPresident, the Internet Citizenry's New Consensus Taker



Sponsored Technology Links

 
 
 HOME  NEWS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  VIDEOS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS  CAREERS   About | Advertise | Awards | RSS | Contact Us 

Copyright © 2008, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

CIO :: ComputerWorld :: CSO :: Demo :: GamePro :: Games.net :: IDG Connect :: IDG World Expo
Industry Standard :: IT World :: JavaWorld :: LinuxWorld :: MacUser :: Macworld :: Network World :: PC World :: Playlist