Internet attacks can hit your pocketbook

Jim Carroll was stunned when Rogers Cable told him it had received a complaint that a hacker was using his Internet address.
Must be a mistake, he told Rogers, his Internet provider. Then a tech helper at the company walked him through his setup and discovered that indeed, he had inadvertently left his business Web server unprotected. It was what is called an “open relay. Someone found it, posted Mr. Carroll’s address on more than 100 Russian bulletin boards, and soon hundreds of people were using Mr. Carroll’s machine to surf anonymously.

Sorry, but I have no sympathy for so called ‘noted high-tech authority’ who leaves his mail server relay function open.

Ordinary users who inadvertatly get infected with spam bots I understand … but people who understand technology should know better.