The net's latest poison

Not another threat to the internet as we know it.

Like everyone else, I've been bracing myself for the exaflood that will grind the web to a halt in two years' time.

As you may recall, the pending flood of data is a threat so dire that that it has been noticed by only vendors and US carriers facing new regulations.

Now security researchers have discovered a flaw in DNS routing that could allow hackers - and I quote - to "control traffic on the World Wide Web".

Fortunately, these security experts have been working in secret with Microsoft, Sun, Cisco, et al to come up with a solution.

Thanks to a helpful public warning by one Rich Mogul of Securosis, the hackers know the vulnerability is out there, and the patch to save us from one of the greatest threats the internet has ever known is - somewhere.

It seems that this brilliant undercover collaboration has forestalled disaster, but hasn't actually got to the point of distributing the solution to we, the potential victims.

Oh well.

Why we wait for Russian mafia to seize control of the net, or patch Tuesday - whichever comes first - at least we can appreciate the compelling nomenclature of today's internet threats.

No more "Michaelangelos" or "netskys", or "LoveBugs". Indeed, an exaflood is a deluge of surely Biblical proportions, and the idea of "DNS cache poisoning" also sounds deadly serious.

You can go online here to find out if you're vulnerable. I am, as no doubt are millions of others. Somehow, we're still here.