ABSTRACT
The state-of-the-art in computer attack tools and techniques is rapidly advancing. Yes, we still face
the tried-and-true, decades-old arsenal of traditional computer attack tools, including denial-
of-service attacks, password crackers, port scanners, sniffers, and RootKits. However, many of
these basic tools and techniques have seen a renaissance in the past couple of years, with new
features and underlying architectures that make them more powerful than ever. Attackers are
delving deep into widely used protocols and the very hearts of our operating systems. In addition to
their growing capabilities, computer attack tools are becoming increasingly easy to use. Just when
you think you have seen it all, a new and easy-to-use attack tool is publicly released with a feature
that blows your socks off. With this constant increase in the sophistication and ease of use in attack
tools, as well as the widespread deployment of weak targets on the Internet, we now live in the
golden age of hacking.
