DIGEX at the Dawn of the Commercial Internet
Doug Mohney explores digex at the dawn of the commercial internet at DEF CON 12, examining web-security and practical defenses.
Summary
Architecture and Background
Doug Mohney, DIGEX At the Dawn of the Commercial Internet Hearken back to the days of yesterday, circa 1993, when men were men, the Internet "backbone" was T3 and run by ANS, and a few brave start-up companies around Washington D.C. were fighting the phone company and each other to build the "commercial" Internet.
Vulnerability Analysis
One of them, DIGEX, literally started out in the founder's basement in "92 and rapidly grew to be a major force in what ultimately became known as web hosting. DIGEX "invented" web hosting, was first to light-up mtv.com, collected a whole bunch of dot.gov sites including one for a Langley, VA-based agency, and grew into a 600+ person company with a 1996 IPO.
Exploitation and Demonstrations
Doug Mohney was employee #10 at DIGEX and witnessed a whole bunch of stuff from late "93 through 1997. Doug Mohney was employee #10 at DIGEX.
Remediation and Defensive Strategies
He is often confused with employee #1 (Doug Humphrey; Mohney does not have Humphrey's beard, wife, or bank balance). Currently, he is online editor for VON Magazine and a contributor to Mobile Radio Technology magazine. His first BOARDWATCH article, a history of DIGEX, was published in 1997 to critical acclaim by most and heartburn by a few.
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