IBM tackles drive-by hacking

IBM has developed software which it claims can effectively prevent drive-by hacking.

Software developed by IBM Research in the US apparently turns servers into wireless auditing sniffers that alert administrators if a network has misconfigured wireless access points.

The software sits on laptops and PCs, analysing traffic on an internal 802.11 wireless network and sending data to a centralised server, the company said.

The Distributed Wireless Security Auditor runs on the Linux operating system and will be commercially available later this year. A version for Windows is being developed.

An early version, introduced last year, ran on Linux on personal digital assistants. The new version includes the self-sensor and self-diagnosis features.

Big Blue has plans to pre-load the software onto business versions of its ThinkPad laptops, which are equipped with an 802.11 wireless network capability.

Peter Williams, of Silicon Valley analyst DataWatch, said that if the software works, it could solve about 80 per cent of the problems of drive-by hacking.

"At the moment there are too many users setting up wireless systems within their office that are insecure. These are very easy for hackers to access using reasonably good scanners," he said.

However, Williams added that knowing that wireless networks nodes are secure is only part of the problem, as drive by hacks are often carried out by people who have the kit to take out such security anyway.