Federal officials warned that the Iraq war may prompt crackers to attack. But for the most part, Internet security firms aren't changing their standard procedures to accommodate the higher threat level - because for them, vigilance is par for the course.

"It's business as usual," said Vincent Weafer, the chief virus researcher for Symantec Security Response, who said the average U.S. corporation already gets hit with about "30 major attacks" weekly. The Internet is under constant attack from a variety of online threats, with as many as 10 to 15 new viruses or other malicious code attacking online systems every day, Weafer said.

There has been an increase in online attacks and other hacker activity since the beginning of the war, but not at the level anticipated by the Homeland Security Department in an alert it issued last Tuesday.

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