THE
DAILY FELIX
MONDAY 28TH FEBRUARY
KEEP THE CAT FREE
Untethered
Also in the Arts Pullout:
Looking back at PhotoSoc and LeoSoc’s exhibition
Department of Computing server hacked
Modern British Sculpture Why Modern art is boring First time at the opera
Rebecca Ayres
GAMES
How to make your own game: Page 8
Change passwords says ICT Alex Karapetian The Department of Computing (DoC) has suffered a security breach on their main shell server, named shell1, which provides secure shell access to the lab machines from outside the department. On the 24th of February, the College’s ICT Service Desk issued an email to DoC students informing them of a “security compromise” which was discovered on shell1, which affects a significant number of commonly used DoC systems. The email described the compromise as “root level”, indicating the breach made way for malicious activity under administrative privileges. ICT’s email to DoC students advised them to change their college password at their earliest convenience as a “precaution to ensure the details are not known to the malicious parties
responsible for the breach”. A source informed Felix that the breach was a rootkit that was installed on the shell1 server which had gone unnoticed for three weeks. A rootkit is one of the most difficult types of malicious software to remove, providing continued privileged access to a machine while employing many strategies to mask its presence from administrators and users. The software would allow circumventing the security measures set up, allowing the malicious attacker full access to the target. Typically, keyboard logging or screen capturing software is installed following a rootkit installation. They may also render the affected computers ‘zombies’, i.e. causing them to join part of a botnet for use in DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks against other ...Continued on Page 3
University reform plans delayed Ben Scally The government has delayed the publication of its plans to reform universities after it discovered that it was unable to stop universities charging the £9,000 maximum rate of tuition fees. The Times Higher Education (THE) revealed that ministers mistakenly believed the Office ...Continued on Page 3
“My plans were this big, I swear!”
TRAVEL I suspect that this cheeky chappy didn’t contribute much to the £23,000
Medic RAG Week raises £23,000 Katherine Bettany Last week hundreds of Imperial’s medical students raised over £23,000 for St Mary’s Hospital Paediatric Department in a series of events as part of their annual RAG week. The biggest event of the week was the traditional ‘Circle Line’ pub crawl and charity collect, attended by over 500 medical students and alumni. The final years were the best represented year group – some quick to boast that they had completed every Circle line crawl since freshers. The event is considered a rite of passage by the student body – with students armed with collection buckets racing each other to make it back to the Reynolds with the most money. The lengths medical students go to in order to raise money in the name of a good cause was tested on Wednesday
in ‘RAG Invasion’. Students were sent on a series of challenges around London - including a (freezing) dip in the Serpentine, and the hijacking of street performances at Covent Garden. As usual, the challenges were met with admirable enthusiasm, with the freshers participating en masse and raising over £3,000 for charity. Tuesday saw the most chilled out night Reynolds has (probably) ever seen, with medics from St Georges competing against ICSM students in ‘Battle of the Bands’, a night of live music (but distinct lack of healthy rivalry, due to the lack of Georges students in attendance.) The relaxed atmosphere was a welcome break for attendees after the escapades of ‘RAG Games’ the previous night, however, the poor turnout was none the less a pity given the considerable talent of the acts. ...Continued on Page 3
Backpacking tips and advice: Page 9
PUZZLES
Who kidnapped the Editor?: Page 12