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Our Next Meeting is
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Point Plaza Suites &
Conference Hotel at I-64 & US 17, Newport News, Va.
Social Hour - 5:30 PM
Dinner - 6:30 PM
Program - 7:30 PM
Members - $17
Spouse/Significant Other - $20
Guests - $20
Students - $14
If you will be joining
us for the speaker and not for dinner, we request a donation of
$5.
For Reservations: Call Digital Applications Inc., at 827-1250 no later
than noon on the Friday preceding the meeting.
OFFICERS
George Koscho, President
382-8909
Clifton Hayes, Past President 460-7284
Jim Pollan, Vice President 865-1400 ext 210
Bill Shumate, Secy./Treasurer 827-1250
Alan Sutton, Association Liaison 486-1700
DIRECTORS
Clara Fox, Awards 826-0519
Ed Miller, Newsletter / Website 553-0128
Bill Oshel, Program 249-2846
The Hampton Roads Chapter
is proud to recognize the following new members:
Sheryl Smith
Steve Tyler
Kelley Dubois
William Phillips
Jeanine Taylor
Charles Anderson
| Oct 4 |
Scott
Dewhirst, NN Waterworks |
| Nov 1 |
Max Bartholomew,
Dominion Resources
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| Dec 6 |
Scott
Striepe, NASA |
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Understanding Internationalized Domain Names
by Mindi McDowell
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You may have been exposed to
internationalized domain names (IDNs) without realizing it. While they
typically do not affect your browsing activity, IDNs may give attackers
an opportunity to redirect you to a malicious web page.
What are internationalized domain
names? To decrease the amount of confusion surrounding different
languages, there is a standard for domain names within web browsers.
Domain names are included in the URL (or web address) of web site.
This standard is based on the Roman alphabet (which is used by the
English language), and computers convert the various letters into
numerical equivalents. This code is known as ASCII (American
Standard Code for Information Interchange). However, other languages
include characters that do not translate into this code, which is
why internationalized domain names were introduced.
To compensate for languages that
incorporate special characters (such as Spanish, French or German)
or rely completely on character representation (such as Asian or
Arabic languages), a new system had to be developed. In this new
system, the base URL (which is usually the address for the home
page) is dissected and converted into a format that is compatible
with ASCII. The resulting URL (which contains the string "xn--" as
well as a combination of letters and numbers) will appear in your
browser's status bar. In newer versions of many browsers, it will
also appear in the address bar.
What are some security concerns?
Attackers may be able to take
advantage of internationalized domain names to initiate phishing
attacks (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for
more information). Because there are certain characters that may
appear to be the same but have different ASCII codes (for example,
the Cyrillic "a" and the Latin "a"), an attacker may be able to
"spoof" a web page URL. Instead of going to a legitimate site, you
may be directed to a malicious site, which could look identical to
the real one. If you submit personal or financial information while
on the malicious site, the attacker could collect that information
and then use and/or sell it.
How can you protect yourself?
* Type a URL instead of following a
link - Typing a URL into a browser rather than clicking a link
within a web page or email message will minimize your risk. By doing
this, you are more likely to visit the legitimate site rather than a
malicious site that substitutes similar-looking characters. * Keep
your browser up to date - Older versions of browsers made it easier
for attackers to spoof URLs, but most newer browsers incorporate
certain protections. Instead of displaying the URL that you "think"
you are visiting, most browsers now display the converted URL with
the "xn--" string. Internet Explorer does not currently support IDNs,
so you will see an error message if you try to visit a URL that
includes non-ASCII characters. * Check your browser's status bar -
If you move your mouse over a link on a web page, the status bar of
your browser will usually display the URL that the link references.
If you see a URL that has an unexpected domain name (such as one
with the "xn--" string mentioned above), you have likely encountered
an internationalized domain name. If you were not expecting an
internationalized domain name or know that the legitimate site
should not need one, you may want to reconsider visiting the site.
Browsers such as Mozilla and Firefox include an option in their
security settings about whether to allow the status bar text to be
modified. To prevent attackers from taking advantage of JavaScript
to make it appear that you are on a legitimate site, you may want to
make sure this option is not enabled.
Authors: Mindi McDowell, Will Dormann,
Jason McCormick Produced 2005 by US-CERT, a government organization.
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Contact Us
AITP
The Association of
Information Technology Professionals
c/o Digital Applications Inc
2714 W Mercury Blvd, Hampton, VA 23666
Phone: (757) 827-1250
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October
Meeting Preview |
Our October 4th meeting will
feature a presentation by Scott Dewhirst. He will speak on the
technology used in the
 water
industry. Scott is employed by The City of Newport News in the
Waterworks/Public Utilities Department. He currently serves as
the Chief of Facilities Engineering where he oversees the
engineering support for all of the Waterworks facilities ranging
from dams, storage tanks, pump stations, and water treatment
facilities. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia
and South Carolina where he previously was employed as an
engineering consultant. Scott is a native of Virginia. He was
born and raised in Richmond and attended Virginia Tech where he
obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil and
Environmental Engineering, respectively. He has always been a
proud Hokie, even before the recent success of the Hokie
football team!
Please plan on joining us for
this very interesting presentation and bring a guest.
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September
Meeting Highlights |
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Our September 6th meeting
featured a presentation and a tour of the Cavalier Telephone
center in Norfolk.
Our host for the evening was
Steve Tyler. Steve was joined by Ray Sprinkle and Clint McDonald
and they presented "Central Office Operations and Carrier Class
VoIP Delivery". They discussed how a telephone company manages
and delivers service, in particular Voice over IP.
Steve Tyler has been in the
telecommunications field for the past 10 years supporting
enterprises customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Before that
he was a network manager for one of the areas largest healthcare
systems. His title with Cavalier is
Major Account Executive, and
currently works in Tidewater.
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