Corporate storage systems and networks are an attractive target for hackers looking to steal sensitive data or launch computer attacks, Alan Lustiger, security architect at TD Ameritrade Inc., told an audience at Computerworld’s Storage Networking World user conference here yesterday. In particular, he warned IT executives that network-attached storage (NAS) systems are a most attractive entry point for hackers. "The easiest storage technology to hack is clearly NAS," Lustiger said. "NAS is virtually indistinguishable to a file system from a hacker perspective; this is a well-developed and well-known means of attack."
According to Lustiger, NAS carries the largest bulls-eye for hackers because of its reliance on well-known protocols. The clearly defined protocols can be easily studied to uncover weak spots, he said.
For example, a hacker could penetrate a NAS to discover and peek into file systems available for mounting, the process of adding a file system into an existing directory structure, he said. Beware of hackers targeting storage systems
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