SecureWorks Counter Threat UnitSM Researcher Joe Stewart to Present at the International Workshop on DDoS Attacks and Defenses

in Korea

ATLANTA, GA -- September 28, 2009: SecureWorks, a leading, global provider of security services protecting 2,600 clients worldwide, announced today that Counter Threat Unit ^SM researcher Joe Stewart will be presenting at the International Workshop on Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks and Defenses to be held in Daejeon, Korea, September 29-30^th. Stewart, an expert on the topic, will discuss the techniques currently being used to launch DDoS attacks and how to defend against them in a presentation titled, DDoS Self Defense. The event is being hosted by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in cooperation with the Korea Institute of Information Security and Cryptology (KIISC).

Stewart will be presenting alongside several highly acclaimed security researchers including Dr. Jiangsu Choi, Director of the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA),

Professor Wenke Lee of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. Jose Nazario, Manager of Security Research of Arbor Networks and Dr. Stuart Schechter, Researcher with Microsoft Research and Adjunct Professor with KAIST, among others.

DDoS attacks continue to be a highlighted topic in the mainstream media, as well as the security press, because of the potential destructive consequences this threat poses. Last July, DDoS attacks were launched at government and commercial Web sites in Korea and the U.S. (including the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, the U.S Treasury Department, and Federal Trade Commission). Because of the attacks, several Korean and U.S. government sites were rendered unstable or inaccessible, further illustrating how important it is for organizations to adopt countermeasures to defend against the DDoS threat.

DDoS attacks occur when a hacker uses a large number of computers to direct attacks against a specific target in order to make the target's computer resources unavailable. The typical response to DDoS attacks is to shut down the affected services/systems or spend substantial amounts of money and time working with ISPs and/or anti-DDoS vendors to quell the attack.

Stewart has developed several effective defensive DDoS techniques showing that it is possible to diminish the effects that a DDoS attack can have on a target. This is done by leveraging properties of the protocols used in the attack to the advantage of the victim. Stewart will detail one such method which has been successful against many HTTP-based DDoS attacks. He will also provide a guide to locating and neutralizing botnet controllers in order to stop attacks at the source.

As a leading expert on malware and Internet threats, Joe Stewart is a frequent commentator on security issues for leading media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. Stewart has presented his security research at many conferences worldwide. In his role as Director of Malware Research for SecureWorks' Counter Threat Unit (CTU), Stewart works alongside a team of expert security researchers to identify and analyze emerging threats and develop countermeasures, correlations and SOC processes to protect clients' critical information assets.

Leveraging SecureWorks' security technologies, knowledge base and a network of industry contacts, the CTU tracks leading hackers and analyzes anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques and threats. This process enables the CTU to identify threats as they emerge and develop countermeasures that protect SecureWorks' clients before damage occurs.

For more information on the International Workshop on DDoS Attacks and Defenses visit http://caislab.kaist.ac.kr/77ddos/index.html.

About SecureWorks:
SecureWorks is a market leading provider of world-class information security services with over 2,600 clients worldwide spanning North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. Organizations of all sizes, including more than ten percent of the Fortune 500, rely on SecureWorks to protect their assets, improve compliance and reduce costs. The combination of strong client service, award-winning security technology and experienced security professionals makes SecureWorks the premier provider of information security services for any organization. Positioned in the Leader's Quadrant of Gartner's Magic Quadrant for MSSPs, SecureWorks has also won SC Magazine's "Best Managed Security Service" award for 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009.