By Polly Raymond, 25 August 1998 17:56
NEWS Free upgrades of Cisco's Internetwork Operating System (IOS) software have been made available after the company admitted to a security hole that could allow external hackers to crash routers. Peter Crowcombe, analyst at Spikes Cavell, said the flaw could be serious unless repaired in time. "There are so many Cisco routers, it could be a serious problem if people get worried about it and shut down their networks - speed of response from Cisco is essential," he said. Details of the flaw were posted on technical pages last week but weren't announced publicly until now. Joerg Bonarius, product marketing manager at Cisco UK, denied that the flaw had been played down, saying: "Those who are at risk will know who they are and will have access to the appropriate technical update areas provided by Cisco." The flaw affects all versions of the IOS software from 9.1 to 11.0. The free upgrades are available on Cisco's Web site and can also be obtained by calling the vendor's helpline. Bonarius was keen to emphasise that the flaw doesn't represent a serious threat. "It's not something which I would see as a very difficult to solve," he said. However, he did give out the UK helpline number 0800 960 547 for any network manager who might be concerned about the welfare of their routers.
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