Category Archives: DDoS Criminals

Cyber attacks ready to lay siege to 2014 World Cup

Brazilian hackers have issued threats to disrupt this summer’s FIFA World Cup and there are worries that the telecommunications infrastructure won’t be able to cope with the attacks. Reuters spoke to hacking groups headquartered in Brazil that are planning to attack the event due to the global exposure it will give them and they are confident of bringing down some of the largest sites involved with the tournament. “We are already making plans,” said an alleged hacker who goes by the name Eduarda Dioratto. “I don’t think there is much they can do to stop us.” Distributed denial of service [DDoS] attacks are reportedly the weapon of choice for Brazil’s hackers to target sites operated by FIFA and the Brazilian government as well as other sponsors and organisers. “The attacks will be directed against official websites and those of companies sponsoring the Cup,” a hacker known as Che Commodore told Reuters over Skype.Some of the problems that could be exploited include overstrained networks, widespread use of pirated programming and little care taken to invest in online security. The same report also states that one of the “world’s most sophisticated cyber criminal communities” already operates in the country and it has already started to scupper ticket sales through phishing. “It’s not a question of whether the Cup will be targeted, but when,” said William Beer, a cybersecurity expert with the consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal. “So resilience and response become extremely important.” FIFA has yet to comment on the issue and the country itself is confident that it is at least some way prepared for any attacks that are launched. “It would be reckless for any nation to say it’s 100 percent prepared for a threat,” said General José Carlos dos Santos, the head of the cyber command for Brazil’s army. “But Brazil is prepared to respond to the most likely cyber threats.” During the Confederations Cup 2013, the traditional dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the cyber command stopped over 300 cyber attacks and dos Santos added that the number will be “much higher” during the tournament proper. Source: http://www.itproportal.com/2014/02/26/cyber-attacks-ready-to-lay-siege-to-2014-world-cup/#ixzz2uZ9neK9Q

Bitly faces complete shutdown of services due to DDoS attack

Online URL shortening services provided by Bitly are down due to a DDoS attack and engineers were trying to solve the issues at the time of publishing Online URL shortening service provided by Bitly was under a major DDoS (distributed denial-of-service attack) on Wednesday. The website states the problem on a banner on their site and a tweet was put out by the company that its services would be restored eventually. Bitly’s internal team of engineers are working on fixing the problem. We are currently working to mitigate a DDoS attack. Some of our site may be unavailable, but we’re working to restore full functionality. — Bitly (@Bitly) February 26, 2014 Services to the links was resumed a little later, however damage from the attack was still being worked on at the time of publishing this article. Bitly, informs on their website, “All links are working after mitigating an earlier DDOS attack. Some link metrics may still be delayed.” Update: All links are working after mitigating an earlier DDOS attack. Some link metrics may still be delayed. — Bitly (@Bitly) February 26, 2014 What is DDoS attack? – Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. – Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of efforts to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet. – As clarification, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are sent by two or more persons, or bots. – DoS (Denial of Service) attacks are sent by one person or system. The company Bitly, Inc. was established in 2008 and is privately held and based in New York City. Bitly shortens more than one billion links per month, for use in social networking, SMS, and email services and is relied for accuracy and reliability. No doubt, this caused some what of a furor online with people even going so far as to refer to this attack as the ‘death of the internet’. #bitly is down. The internet is dying — iwyg (@_iwyg_) February 26, 2014 Why are so many #Bitly links failing to open today?? What’s up @hootsuite ?? — Slaweezy (@Slaweezy) February 26, 2014 On no #bitly is down and I haven’t had my fix of web based stats yet for the day #marketingbreakdown — Steve Scheja-Terry (@Von_Steve) February 26, 2014 The web is collapsing! #bitly is down! — Ben R. Hodges (@BenHodgesH2O) February 26, 2014

View article:
Bitly faces complete shutdown of services due to DDoS attack

Theresa May Home Office website DDoS attack: Man charged

A man is being charged with attacking websites belonging to the Home Office and the Home Secretary Theresa May. Mark Lynden Johnson, 43, from Stoke-on-Trent, is being charged with encouraging or assisting an offence under the Computer Misuse Act. He is due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 12 March. Both websites were taken offline during attacks between 15 and 18 June 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. The websites were subjected to a Distributed Denial Of Service attack, also known as a DDoS attack, which prevented visitors accessing them, a CPS spokesperson said. A DDoS attack floods a webserver with so many requests that it can no longer respond to legitimate users. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-26341874

Continue reading here:
Theresa May Home Office website DDoS attack: Man charged

Cyber attacks: preventing disruption to your website

One of the largest ever cyber attacks took place this month and it has been cited that it was the shape of things to come. But it is not all doom and gloom – there is plenty that businesses can do to prepare for the future. Start by thinking about the impact of your website being down for a day to three days and how it would affect current and prospective clients and the reputation of your brand. Google is usually the first port of call when checking out products and services, so chances are high that any disruption to your web experience won’t be favourably looked upon by prospects. Cyber criminals will often inject malware into legitimate websites with the goal of getting innocent users to click on it, which will automatically trigger a download and can lead to all sorts of problems for the user. As the website owner, you may be completely unaware, but this is something that Google is cracking down on. If a website is spotted hosting malicious links, Google can blacklist it, meaning it will not show up in searches and it will temporarily remove it from the Google index, which badly affects SEO. Browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox etc will also flag insecure or risky websites and that may scare away potential customers. It may take weeks of effort to get removed from blacklists and re-indexed. If this wasn’t bad enough, the risk is actually two-fold. There are some would-be attackers that will threaten to hold your website to ransom. In this case, they will identify the holes in your website and blackmail you into paying them in order for them not to get your website blacklisted. The best way to avoid getting blacklisted, or indeed blackmailed, is to have the website checked for malware and other infections. And it is also highly recommended to have your website scanned for known vulnerabilities. This will ensure that there are no “holes” that attackers can exploit to install malware or create watering holes for unsuspecting customers. Another issue to avoid falling victim to is a DDoS attack. DDoS attacks bombard a website with so many external communication requests that it floods the system and overloads the server to such a point that it can no longer function, leaving the website paralysed and unable to transact business. Attacks of this nature are on the rise and it’s fair to predict that this year will be no exception to this trend. The best start is to have a plan in place- whether it is a hardware solution that takes days to install and requires a higher up-front cost; or a provider who offers DDoS protection services that can be up and running in as little as a few hours for a monthly cost. In addition, it’s worth noting that some good DDoS protection services will offer a caching component that will allow bursts of legitimate traffic to your website without negatively impacting on the server. Because it will automatically balance the load coming in, it keeps the website available to handle large amounts of requests with no disruption to your user base. So, make sure you do your research when choosing the best option for your website. Bear in mind that, while you can get a protection service in an emergency situation, as with so many things, the best offense is a good defence, so businesses should make sure that they have a proactive DDoS solution in place to avoid disruption to your web presence. Top tips: 1) Run malware detection and anti-virus on your website to spot and clear any existing infections 2) Enlist the services of a vulnerability scanner to identify and fix any exploits in your website 3) Have proactive DDoS protection in place; either in the form of hardware or a managed service 4) Have load balancing in place to ensure your website can handle increases in transactions Source: http://www.itproportal.com/2014/02/21/cyber-attacks-preventing-disruption-your-website/

Namecheap's DNS server hit with a "new type" of DDoS

Popular domain registrar and web hosting service Namecheap has been having trouble with an unexpected DDoS attack targeting 300 or so domains on two of their their DNS nameservers. “The sheer siz…

See more here:
Namecheap's DNS server hit with a "new type" of DDoS

MMO developer offering $14,000 reward for DDoS attack info

If you know a little thing or two about MMOs and a little more about DDOS attacks, you might be able to net yourself a near $15,000 bounty. Wurm Online, the MMO from Minecraft creator Markus Persson (no longer involved) and childhood friend Ralf Jansson, was hit by a DDOS attack yesterday and at the time of writing, it still remains down. Nobody so far has owned up to the attack, which was launched soon after a recent update. Presumably from the relative obscurity of the game, the DDOSer is a player, but there’s very little information on who they are or why they might have done it. However, in an attempt to find out more and ultimately catch and convict those responsible, the studio behind it, Code Club, is now offering a reward: “Shortly after today’s update we were the target of a DDOS attack and our hosting provider had to pull us off the grid for now,” it said in the announcement. “We will be back as soon as possible but things are out of our hands since their other customers are affected. As we wrote in a previous news post we are planning on changing hosting anyways which should improve things for the future. We can offer 10 000 Euro for any tips or evidence leading to a conviction of the person responsible for this attack.” DDOS attacks against large games has become more common over the past few years, since it usually garners a lot of attention and understandably annoys a lot of gamers. However the purpose beyond attention getting is often unclear, since it rarely impacts anyone more than the players. So what about it guys? Anyone here think they could track down a DDOSer? Source: http://megagames.com/news/mmo-developer-offering-14000-reward-ddos-info

Continue Reading:
MMO developer offering $14,000 reward for DDoS attack info

Bitcoin Value Plunges as DDoS Strikes Currency Exchanges Read

Russia and China are backing out of the Bitcoin business. Recent DDoS attacks on a number of major Bitcoin exchanges have caused them to suspend trade. Mt Gox, one of the most significant exchanges, blames hackers trying to create fraudulent transactions for the attack. The value of the cryptocurrency has dropped significantly, from a high of $926 on February 5th to $501.83 as of time of writing. Bitstamp, BTC-e and Mt Gox are all known to have been affected. Tokyo-based Mt Gox argues that the attackers are trying to create uncertainty, and exploiting that uncertainty to duplicate transactions. By intervening just after a transaction is initiated but before it completes and changing the transaction ID, the hacker can create the illusion that the transaction never completed. The hacker then claims a second payment, alleging that the first one wasn’t valid. “Whoever is doing this is not stealing coins, but is succeeding in preventing some transactions from confirming,” says Jinyoung Lee Englund of the Bitcoin Foundation. “It’s important to note that DDoS attacks do not affect people’s bitcoin wallets or funds.” The value of most other Bitcoin variants has fallen, dragged down by the drop in Bitcoin itself. The one exception so far is Dogecoin, whose value has risen markedly. It’s now the third most valuable cryptocurrency, after its value soared 27% in 24 hours. Meanwhile both Russia and China have started cracking down on Bitcoin. Last week the Central Bank of Russia made it illegal to use Bitcoin, alleging that it could be used for money laundering and criminal activity. Russia’s move came after China’s largest exchanges started banning Bitcoin sales earlier this year, as the government cracked down on the cryptocurrency. Alibaba Group, China’s biggest online marketplace, complied with the government’s demands “in the interest of consumer protection,” said a spokeswoman. In both instances it seems likely that, although there are legitimate concerns about criminal activity, the bigger issue is currency control. Though there are benefits – China’s investments in Africa have been made much easier with Bitcoin – neither China nor Russia really likes the idea of an electronic currency that avoids both government regulation and monitoring. “It is proposed to punish (with large fines and imprisonment) all anonymous ‘electronic’ money transfers through the border,” alleged an anonymous Russian Cryptocoins News source. “Since Bitcoin has no borders, it may be the problem.” The source argues that Russia’s political opposition has been funded via Bitcoin for some time, and this crackdown is an attempt to stifle that opposition, as well as a more general reaction against technology the government doesn’t understand. “To put things in perspective,” says Mt Gox as it explains the reasons behind its suspension of trade, “it’s important to remember that Bitcoin is a very new technology and still very much in its early stages. What Mt Gox and the Bitcoin community have experienced in the past year has been an incredible and exciting challenge, and there is still much to do to further improve.” Source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132215-Bitcoin-Value-Plunges-as-DDoS-Strikes-Currency-Exchanges?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news

View article:
Bitcoin Value Plunges as DDoS Strikes Currency Exchanges Read

400Gbps NTP-based DDoS attack hits Cloudflare

Matthew Prince, CEO of content delivery network Cloudflare, has confirmed on Twitter on Monday that one of its customers was being targeted with a very big Network Time Protocol (NTP) reflection attac…

View post:
400Gbps NTP-based DDoS attack hits Cloudflare

Exchange Halts Payouts as DDoS Attack Pummels Bitcoin

A second major bitcoin exchange suspended withdrawals on Tuesday, amidst widespread attacks on the vast software system that drives the digital currency. Bitstamp, an exchange based on Slovenia, says that it suspended Bitcoin withdrawals due to “inconsistent results” from its online bitcoin wallet caused by a denial-of-service attack, according to a post on the exchange’s Facebook page. “Bitcoin withdrawal processing will be suspended temporarily until a software fix is issued,” the post reads. The news comes a week after the Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox suspended Bitcoin payouts, blaming a known bug in the bitcoin software. At the time, outside observers turned the blame on Mt. Gox’s accounting software, but it turns out that the company isn’t the only exchange struggling to cope with the bug. That a known issue like this could lead to the suspension of payouts on two of the world’s most popular bitcoin exchanges underscores the immaturity of bitcoin and the ongoing growing pains of the the world’s most popular digital currency. These growing pains are not just technical, but political. As Bitstamp battles against these attacks, it’s also worth noting that the Slovenian exchange is not listed as a money services business with FINCEN, the U.S. agency that registers money transmitters — even though it accepts US customers. Bitstamp did not respond to a press inquiry from WIRED. But according to Andreas Antonopoulos, the chief security officer with bitcoin wallet-maker, Blockchain, the effects of this week’s attack should be temporary. “It’s a griefer attack,” he says. “All it does is slow down these exchanges.” But the company could eventually run into serious problems with regulators in the U.S. FINCEN expects even foreign-based money transmitters to register if they service US customers. A Bored Teenager With a Computer? Bitstamp’s technical issues came to light after someone — nobody knows who, exactly — started flooding the worldwide bitcoin network with thousands of bad transaction records. Because of a flaw in the bitcoin protocol, it’s possible for the bad guys to create two unique transaction identifiers — called hashes — for legitimate transactions on the network. The official bitcoin ledger, or blockchain, is not fooled by these so-called “malleable transactions”, but some badly written wallet software could be confused. “It’s like creating a fake receipt,” says Antonopoulos. In theory, someone could try and use one of these fake receipts to try and trick an exchange into believing that a bitcoin transfer had not gone through, but a look at the blockchain would clear things up, he explains. It turns out that a small number of these bad transactions have been broadcast in the background of the bitcoin network for some time now, but after Mt. Gox went public with its problems, someone cranked up the volume. “Some joker is rewriting thousands of bitcoin transactions and rebroadcasting them,” says Jeff Garzik, a core developer on the bitcoin software. “It’s not a ‘massive and concerted’ attack, probably just a bored teenager with one computer.” Antonopoulos, who is working with other bitcoin companies to coordinate a response to the attack, says he’s spoken with five exchanges (not including Mt. Gox) about the issue, and that three of them are unaffected by the issue. None of the five exchanges that Antonopoulos has spoken with appear to have lost money because of the issue, he says. Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/02/bitcoin-ddos/

See the original article here:
Exchange Halts Payouts as DDoS Attack Pummels Bitcoin

Europe shrugs off largest DDoS attack yet, traffic tops 400Gbps

NTP flaw used again, effects minimal Once again hackers are targeting content-delivery firm Cloudfare, and the company says this latest attack is its biggest yet, peaking at over 400Gbps of traffic.…