Tag Archives: ddos

FBI Warns Companies of Anonymous DDoS Attacks

The Cyber Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned several large corporations of the potential for distributed denial of service (DDoS) and data exfiltration attacks scheduled for today, May 25. The attacks are being coordinated by the rogue movement Anonymous in an an exercise termed “Operation NewSon”. In denial of service attacks, generally a large amount of information is sent to a web server at such high frequency that it overwhelms the processing capacity or causes the system to shut down. The net effect is that the server can not longer operate correctly and the targeted website is rendered inaccessible. DDoS attacks can also inflict serious damage to targeted systems, as well as collateral damage to associated nodes. Anonymous is known for having targeted the websites of businesses like PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, PostFinance Bank, Amazon, Bank of America, as well as numerous government agencies, and continues to use DDoS attacks as a method of furthering their political views in various conflicts around the world. Anonymous was also behind the HBGary Federal breach had led to the release of tens-of-thousands of company emails which revealed multiple instances of ethically questionable covert operations involving the security company. Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay – typically aligned with Anonymous in their anti-copyright orientation – recently issued a statement in opposition to the popular hacktivist tactic of DDoS attacks. Source: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/fbi-warns-top-firms-anonymous-protest-hacks-may-25-052412?

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FBI Warns Companies of Anonymous DDoS Attacks

US Firms Are Over-Reliant on Firewalls to Protect Against DDoS Attacks

By John E Dunn, techworld.com More than half of US businesses still rely on conventional firewalls or intrusion prevention systems to shield themselves from the scourge of DDoS attacks, a survey by services firm Neustar has found. The survey of 1,000 US-based IT professionals across a range of industries found that only 3 percent were using DDoS mitigation systems or services, with a quarter claiming they had no protection whatsoever against the threat. Eleven percent used intrusion detection/prevention systems even though such technology is (in common with firewalls, routers and switches) widely seen as an inadequate defence against contemporary DDoS bombardment, Neustar said. “Experts point out that during DDoS attacks these ‘defences’ become part of the problem. They quickly become bottlenecks, helping achieve an attacker’s goal of slowing or shutting you down. Moreover, firewalls won’t repel attacks on the application layer, an increasingly popular DDoS vector,” the authors note. A third of those questioned said DDoS attacks lasted for a day or more with 11 percent mentioning over a week. There didn’t appear to be any clear pattern that related attack length to industry segment, except that the travel industry appeared slightly more vulnerable to attacks lasting longer than 24 hours. Two thirds said the direct cost of all this DDoS was about $10,000 (£6,200) per hour or $240,000 per day, with 13 percent reckoning it as being $100,000 per hour. The most vulnerable to high costs was retail, a sector that depends on online sales to generate cashflow, followed by finance. The main anxiety in advance of DDoS attacks was the negative impact on customers, ahead of brand reputation damage and even direct costs. Companies such as Neustar have a vested interest in talking up the difficulty of dealing with DDoS the better to market protection services. However, the company said it accepted that there was no simple answer to countering DDoS attacks; even the best protection systems available still required trained, skilled staff to deploy and manage them. “With attacks becoming more sophisticated – mixing brute-force bandwidth assaults and surgical strikes on applications – in-depth knowledge and experience make a huge difference. There is no ‘magic box’ that can out-think attackers on its own.” Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/255772/us_firms_are_overreliant_on_firewalls_to_protect_against_ddos_attacks.html

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US Firms Are Over-Reliant on Firewalls to Protect Against DDoS Attacks

Flashback botmasters earned less than $15K

It has already been established that the criminals behind the Flashback botnet were after money, but according to Symantec researchers, their plan was foiled by the attention that the first massive Ma…

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Flashback botmasters earned less than $15K

Three-Quarters of IT Professionals Fear Negative Brand Impact or Customer Experience as a Result of DDoS Attacks

New Data from Neustar Finds DDoS Attacks Can Cost Retailers More Than $100,000 Per Hour May 15, 2012, 9:30 a.m. EDT STERLING, Va., May 15, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Neustar, Inc., a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecommunications, entertainment and marketing industries, today released the results of a survey asking 1,000 IT professionals across North America about the business impact associated with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Among the findings, three-quarters of those surveyed cited impact on customer experience and brand as their greatest fears about the possible implications of DDoS attacks. By unleashing extremely high volumes of malicious Internet traffic or surgically targeting Web applications, hackers seek to shut down a company’s Web resources — typically websites, but also email servers. When hackers unleash a DDoS attack, it carries the potential to exert lasting damage to customer service, online revenue streams and brand reputation. Neustar Survey Results: Executed in Q1 2012, the survey garners responses of IT professionals in more than 25 industries such as finance and banking, retail, telecommunications, travel and IT. Notable findings include: – More than 300 respondents reported they had been attacked – The top concern was the impact attacks have on customer service — with 51 percent listing it as their greatest concern associated with the attacks – 35 percent of those attacked said the attacks lasted more than 24 hours — with 11 percent of attacks lasting more than a week – Specific to retailers, 67 percent who had experienced a DDoS attack pegged the costs of website outages at more $100,000 per hour — equating to loses of $2 million a day “The potential negative implications of DDoS attacks can be devastating for both marketers and IT professionals,” said Alex Berry, senior vice president, Enterprise Services, Neustar. “Many companies have been hit hard – with consequences lasting far longer than the attacks themselves. It’s important that companies are proactive about protecting their online presence, as well as their customers, to ensure the constant delivery of online services and necessary brand vigilance.” Overall, the survey shows that a significant number of companies face the risks of DDoS attacks, yet few have solutions designed specifically to combat attacks, with many relying solely on firewalls and intrusion detection systems. Less than 5 percent of respondents have a purpose-built DDoS mitigation solution, for example, an on-premise DDoS mitigation appliance. This explains why so many attacks last days — in fact, 35 percent respondents experienced attacks that lasted more than 24 hours. Without adequate protection, companies are unable to prevent losses from adding up. While many respondents are aware of the risks to their customer experience and public trust, they haven’t taken the next step to safeguard their reputation. Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/three-quarters-of-it-professionals-fear-negative-brand-impact-or-customer-experience-as-a-result-of-ddos-attacks-2012-05-15

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Three-Quarters of IT Professionals Fear Negative Brand Impact or Customer Experience as a Result of DDoS Attacks

Apple ships Flashback removal tool for OS X 10.5 Leopard

Following the discovery of a 600K strong Flashback botnet, Apple has been trying to undo the damage to its reputation and has worked on issuing tools, patches and updates aimed at cleaning up the infe…

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Apple ships Flashback removal tool for OS X 10.5 Leopard

Week in review: Sizing up botnets, Conficker still alive and kicking, and a new exploit kit spotted in the wild

Here's an overview of some of last week's most interesting news, podcasts and articles: What’s in your daily slice of spam? Bitdefender decided to look at just what spam – the e-mail version – c…

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Week in review: Sizing up botnets, Conficker still alive and kicking, and a new exploit kit spotted in the wild