Dealing with script kiddies

From: Michael A. Covington \(Portable computer\) (look@www.covingtoninnovations.com.for.address)
Date: 06/06/02 

From: "Michael A. Covington  \(Portable computer\)" <look@www.covingtoninnovations.com.for.address>
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 17:52:24 -0400

In my IIS logs, it's obvious that, several times per day, "script kiddies"
are trying to penetrate the system by running cmd.exe through an HTTP GET
command.

They're not succeeding, even though many of them try it over... and over...
and over, like people who dial a wrong number on the telescope.

I have full information about the dates, times, and IP addresses from which
they are connecting.

My question is: How aggressive should I be about reporting these to their
ISPs?

I realize that most of them have to be ignored, simply because we have
better things to do with our time. But I think I'm in favor of reporting
them to their ISPs whenever feasible.

The reason? ISPs used to tolerate spammers and even crackers, until they
learned, gradually, that if they harbor such people, they will get a barrage
of complaints from the intended victims.

Another reason: Any kind of crime prevention has to focus on unsuccessful
attempts, not just successful ones. It's better to catch people earlier in
their careers and try to get them to realize that we don't admire what
they're doing.

Thoughts, anyone? 

--
Michael A. Covington - Associate Director
Artificial Intelligence Center, The University of Georgia
http://www.ai.uga.edu/~mc

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