Category Archives: DDoS Vendors

Malicious content delivered over SSL/TLS has more than doubled in six months

Threats using SSL encryption are on the rise. An average of 60 percent of the transactions in the Zscaler cloud have been delivered over SSL/TLS. Researchers also found that the Zscaler cloud saw an average of 8.4 million SSL/TLS-based security blocks per day this year. “Hackers are increasingly using SSL to conceal device infections, shroud data exfiltration and hide botnet command and control communications. In fact, our study found that the amount of phishing attempts … More ?

FCC: We could tell you our cybersecurity plan… but we’d have to kill you

Despite Pai on face, US federal regulator keeps digging DDoS BS hole America’s broadband watchdog, the FCC, has continued digging an ever-deeper hole over its claims it was subject to a distributed denial-of-service attack.…

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FCC: We could tell you our cybersecurity plan… but we’d have to kill you

FCC says its cybersecurity measures to prevent DDoS attacks must remain secret

The FCC has provided a few — very few — details of the steps it has taken to prevent attacks like the one that briefly took down its comment system in May. The agency has faced criticism over its secrecy regarding the event, and shows no sign of opening up; citing “the ongoing nature of the threats,” to reveal its countermeasures would “undermine our system’s security.” These cryptic comments are the first items of substance in a letter (PDF) sent to the House Energy and Commerce and Government Reform committees. Members thereof had sent letters to the FCC in late June asking what solutions it was implementing to mitigate or prevent future attacks. A cover letter from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai emphasizes the fact that millions of comments have been filed since, including 2 million in the 4 days following the attack. He writes that the Commission’s IT staff “has taken additional steps… to ensure the ongoing integrity and resiliency of the system.” What those steps are, however, he did not feel at liberty to say, except that they involve “commercial cloud providers” and “internet-based solutions.” Since the comment filing system is commercially cloud-hosted, and the system is fundamentally internet-based, neither of these descriptions is particularly revelatory. It’s not the security, it’s the communication The issue, however, isn’t that we are deeply afraid that another hacker will take down the system. After all, basic rate limiting and some analytics seem to have done the job and allowed record numbers of comments immediately after the attack stopped. The FCC was still writing reports and calling experts at the time the system had returned to full operation. The issue is the FCC’s confusing and misleading handling of the entire thing. The nature and extent of the attack is unclear — it’s described in a previous letter to concerned senators as a “non-traditional DDoS attack.” Supposedly the API was being hammered by cloud-based providers. What providers? Don’t they have records? Who was requesting the keys necessary to do this? Very little has been disclosed, and even requests of information circumstantial to the attacks have been denied. What is so sensitive about an analysis of the network activity from that period? Petitioners seeking to see communications pertaining to the attack were told much of the analysis was not written down. Even the most naive internet user would find it hard to believe that in a major agency of a modern bureaucracy, a serious attack on its internet infrastructure, concerning a major internet policy, would fail to be discussed online. The FCC also says it consulted with the FBI and agreed that the attack was not a “significant cyber incident” as such things are defined currently in government. For the curious: A cyber incident that is (or group of related cyber incidents that together are) likely to result in demonstrable harm to the national security interests, foreign relations, or economy of the United States or to the public confidence, civil liberties, or public health and safety of the American people. Okay, that seems reasonable. So why is it being kept under wraps? Why are the countermeasures, which are probably industry standard, unable to be disclosed? How would disclosing the details of those security countermeasures undermine those systems? If it’s the “ongoing threat,” what is the threat exactly if not the pervasive threat of hacking faced by any public website, service or API? Have there been follow-up attacks we haven’t been informed of? The investigation is also ongoing, but in that case how could it fail to produce written records for FOIA requests like those already submitted? The more the FCC drags its feet and stammers out non-answers to simple questions regarding what it itself has categorized a non-major attack that happened months ago and did not significantly affect its systems, the less we trust what it does say. Concerned senators, representatives and others are not going to stop asking, however. Let’s hope whatever the FCC seems unwilling to share comes out before it ceases to be relevant. It would be a shame, for instance, to receive a full report on hackers bent on supporting one side of the net neutrality argument… the day after the FCC votes on the issue. Source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/31/fcc-says-its-cybersecurity-measures-to-prevent-ddos-attacks-must-remain-secret/

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FCC says its cybersecurity measures to prevent DDoS attacks must remain secret

‘App DDoS bombs’ that slam into expensive APIs worry Netflix

Attackers can look legit while hitting APIs that make the most work for an app Netflix has identified denial of service threat to microservices architectures that it’s labelled “application DDoS”.…

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‘App DDoS bombs’ that slam into expensive APIs worry Netflix

DDoS Attacks Could Disrupt Brexit Negotiations

IT security professionals are bracing for DDoS attacks of unprecedented frequency in the year ahead, and are already preparing for attacks that could disrupt the UK’s Brexit negotiations and cause outages worldwide. That’s according to a survey from Corero Network Security, which found that more than half (57%) of respondents believe that the Brexit negotiations will be affected by DDoS attacks, with hackers using DDoS to disrupt the negotiations themselves, or using the attacks merely as camouflage while they seek to steal confidential documents or data. The latter “hidden attack” scenario is on the radar of many, and it generally involves the use of smaller, low-volume DDoS attacks of less than 30 minutes in duration. As Corero found in its research, these Trojan-horse campaigns typically go un-mitigated by most legacy solutions, and are frequently used by hackers as a distraction mechanism for additional efforts, like data exfiltration. About 63% of respondents are worried about these hidden effects of these attacks on their networks— particularly with the GDPR deadline fast-approaching, where organizations could be fined up to 4% of global turnover in the event of a data breach. At the same time, worryingly, less than a third (30%) of IT security teams have enough visibility into their networks to mitigate attacks of less than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, many in the industry expect to see a significant escalation of DDoS attacks during the year ahead, with some (38%) predicting that there could even be worldwide Internet outages during 2017. As for who’s behind the growing wave of attacks, the perpetrators are generally financially motivated, IT pros said—despite continued discussions about nation-state attackers or political activism. Security teams believe that criminal extortionists are the most likely group to inflict a DDoS attack against their organizations, with 38% expecting attacks to be financially motivated. By contrast, just 11% believe that hostile nations would be behind a DDoS attack against their organization. This financial motivation explains why almost half of those surveyed (46%) expect to be targeted by a DDoS-related ransom demand over the next 12 months. Worryingly, 62% believe it is likely or possible that their leadership team would pay. “Despite continued advice that victims should not pay a ransom, a worrying number of security professionals seem to believe that their leadership teams would still consider making a payment in the event of an attack,” said Ashley Stephenson, CEO of Corero. “Corporations need to be proactive and invest in their cybersecurity defenses against DDoS and ransomware to protect themselves against such extortion.” The good news is that the vast majority of security teams (70%) are already taking steps to stay ahead of the threats, such as putting business continuity measures in place to allow their organizations to continue operating in the event of worldwide attacks. However, they also agree that some responsibility for DDoS protection lies with the ISPs; and about a quarter of those surveyed (25%) believe their ISP is primarily to blame for not mitigating DDoS attacks. At the end of 2016, the head of Britain’s new National Cyber Security Centre suggested that the UK’s ISPs could restrict the volume of DDoS attacks across their networks by rewriting internet standards around spoofing. Continued discussions on this topic have led nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) to expect regulatory pressure to be applied against ISPs who are perceived to be not protecting their customers against DDoS threats. “While most in the IT security industry wouldn’t expect their ISP to automatically protect them against DDoS attacks, there is a growing trend to blame upstream providers for not being more proactive when it comes to DDoS defense,” said Stephenson. “To help their cause, ISPs could do more to position themselves as leading the charge against DDoS attacks, both in terms of protecting their own networks, and by offering more comprehensive solutions to their customers as a paid-for, managed service.” Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ddos-attacks-could-disrupt-brexit/

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DDoS Attacks Could Disrupt Brexit Negotiations

So, FCC, how about that massive DDoS? Hello? Hello…? You still there?

Like trying to get blood out of a stone Updated America’s broadband watchdog, the FCC, has declined to spare any more details on the cyber-assault that supposedly downed its website shortly after it announced its intent to kill net neutrality.…

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So, FCC, how about that massive DDoS? Hello? Hello…? You still there?

Organizations Must Adapt to Evolving DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are becoming larger, more frequent, and more complex than ever before. According to Arbor Networks’ 12 th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR), attack size has grown 7,900% since its initial report – a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%. The most recent attacks are significantly larger than anything previously seen, and can now disrupt even the largest internet service providers. This data shows that DDoS attacks have become more than just a nuisance: they are rapidly increasing in size and now threaten to disrupt core Internet infrastructure. Within the broader spectrum of risks for corporate security and IT decision makers, DDoS attacks present a nettlesome and growing challenge for several reasons. First, while the underlying technology behind DDoS attacks hasn’t changed much, the number of internet-connected devices in the world that can be compromised has dramatically increased. In addition, the level to which DDoS attacks have become automated and commoditized has also increased. The Mirai-enabled attacks showed off the former; they used an army of internet-connected IoT devices to generate unprecedented levels of traffic. In the past, a connection to the internet required significant hardware and expense. These days, even light bulbs can be connected to a network, which provides a lot more sources for traffic. Second, the amount of skill required to successfully run a DDoS attack has been lowered over the last twenty years. While large attacks such as Mirai take some amount of coordination and planning, in many cases a connection to the right forum and a small amount of money ($50-100) can buy you a short attack that can take down unprotected web services. Why DDoS attacks are hard to prevent The best way to think about the DDoS problem is to imagine a river system, like the Mississippi or Columbia. At the end of those systems, where they meet the ocean, it’s very obvious that there’s a lot of water moving through those rivers: but at the source of all that water — at the little tiny creeks and streams and rivulets where the water first gathers — those sources don’t necessarily look like that much. Volumetric-style DDoS attacks, whereby attackers simply flood a target with more data than their connection can handle, use a similar effect: each network only cares about sending IP packets to the “next hop”, without a holistic view or awareness of what the total, internet-wide traffic picture looks like. So, at the source of a DDoS attack, it can be difficult to differentiate between someone uploading a file and someone perpetrating an attack. What actually matters is whether that one traffic flow joins together with a bunch of other traffic to form a giant river, or if the traffic flow is bounced off a server in such a way that it magnifies the size of the traffic many-fold. In either case, by the time you notice that you’ve got a really huge river of traffic coming at you, it may already be too late. Emerging approaches to combat DDoS attacks A promising approach to DDoS can be found with the DDoS Defense for a Community of Peers (3DCoP) project, which uses peer-to-peer collaboration so that like-minded organizations (such as a group of universities, government agencies, banks, or ISPs) act together to rapidly and effectively detect and mitigate DDoS attacks. With a peer-to-peer collaborative approach, the target of a DDoS attack can send out distress calls to the origin of any traffic it sees. The receivers of these distress calls can then take a look at the traffic they’re seeing, and either pass that message on appropriately or take local action. Universities, for example, might learn that what looks like normal traffic coming out from one of their student labs looks like a big attack to a target, and use this information to shut off or rate-limit that lab. Other approaches involve technologies like BGP FlowSpec, an improvement over conventional IP blacklisting. FlowSpec allows a victim of a DDoS to ask its upstream service providers and intermediate networks to block specific kinds of traffic, with a good level of granularity. Organizations can also relocate services into the cloud, as some cloud operators deploy sensors that can detect and mitigate attacks earlier. Unfortunately, today’s largest attacks are too large for cloud operators to handle, and the attacks may impact geographic regions or critical internet infrastructure. In the end, there are a variety of methods to filter and redirect traffic, especially for those systems housed in the cloud. However, for the biggest attacks, and for institutions that cannot create replicated versions of their systems in the cloud, techniques such as 3DCoP are key in mitigating DDoS risk. Specifically, we believe that it is only through rapid, real-time collaboration that DDoS attacks can be correctly identified, sourced, and addressed; without such collaboration, institutions must rely on phone calls and manual router updates, while a river crashes down around them. Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/opinions/organizations-adapt-evolving-ddos/

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Organizations Must Adapt to Evolving DDoS Attacks

Two Iranians Charged With Hacking US Defense Contractor

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment on Monday against two Iranian nationals accused of hacking a US company and stealing software used in ammunition design. The two suspects are Mohammed Reza Rezakhah, 39 and Mohammed Saeed Ajily, 35, both Iranian businessmen. According to the indictment, Ajily ran a company named Andisheh VesaJ Middle East Company, which he used as a front to obtain and sell software in contravention of Western sanctions against Iran. Ajily’s customers included Iranian private companies, but also Iranian military and government entities. Rezakhah ran his own company called Dongle Labs, which provided DRM and license cracking services. Rezakhah was one of the many hackers Ajily hired to steal software from Western companies. The two orchestrated the 2012 hack of Arrow Tech DOJ officials claim that in 2012, Ajily hired Rezakhah to hack and steal software from a US company called Arrow Tech. The indictment says that Rezakhah, together with another accomplice named Nima Golestaneh, rented a server that they used on October 22, 2016, to hack into the Arrow Tech website and adjacent network. Officials say the two hackers stole a software application named Projectile Rocket Ordnance Design and Analysis System (PRODAS), created by Arrow Tech to aid in the design of bullets, missiles, and other military projectiles. Rezakhah cracked the program, which he later supplied to Ajily to market in the Iranian market, but also elsewhere outside the US. Group worked together for at least six years While officials brought charges only for hacking Arrow Tech, the indictment also claims that Ajily and Rezakhah worked together for years, between 2007 and 2013, hacking several targets and stealing software. The FBI also claims that Ajily had many other partners and hackers that he used to obtain his software, along with a network of companies that he used to sell the stolen goods. US officials charged the two suspects with criminal conspiracy relating to computer fraud and abuse, unauthorized access to, and theft of information from, computers, wire fraud, exporting a defense article without a license, and violating sanctions against Iran. A US judge has issued a warrant in their names. Their partner, Nima Golestaneh pleaded guilty to hacking Arrow Tech back in December 2015. In March 2016, the US also charged seven Iranian nationals on accusations of launching repeated DDoS attacks and orchestrating hacks of industrial SCADA equipment on the behest of the Iranian government. Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/two-iranians-charged-with-hacking-us-defense-contractor/

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Two Iranians Charged With Hacking US Defense Contractor

Can Cloud Storage save you from Ransomware Attacks?

Step by step, our personal and work lives are being transferred online and instantaneous connections, real-time cooperation, and free flowing information come at a price. Yes, cybercrime is hardly something new but the recent rise in global ransomware attacks are putting the question of online security into the spotlight and under scrutiny. The hackers are getting more and more inventive, and it’s becoming harder for the individual as well as companies to protect themselves. What can be done? Can cloud storage save us from ransomware? Cloud Storage vs. Ransomware Cloud created a revolution in data storage. It’s cost-effective, easy to access and typically very well guarded. The convenience is reflected in its widespread use. A report by RightScale found that 82% of companies were already using multi-cloud storage strategies. According to a report by Intuit, 78% of small businesses will fully rely on cloud services by 2020. This mass migration of business of all sizes to cloud space rendered it an extremely attractive target. Sadly, the NotPetya ransomware made it clear that ransomware has gone beyond local and physical storage, and can hit everywhere. Although being publicized as on one of the safest storage options, the cloud is not an exception to the threat. Let’s Be Realistic The best way to stay protected is to be realistic and keep informed about the capacity and power of the services on which you are relying. As such, cloud storage is not a magical bulletproof solution that will graciously save you from the ransomware. To be able to withstand ransomware and other types of attacks, cloud and collaboration services need to start implementing or strengthening solutions that allow for real-time visibility, greater control, data loss prevention, and so forth. If hackers are getting more creative, the levels of security need to follow and surpass them. How to Leverage Cloud Storage Despite the cold splash of reality, not all is lost. Cloud storage can be a valuable partner in crime or – better said – your partner in preventing crime. Scalability – Regardless of shortcomings, cloud services are still best equipped to act as a failsafe and protect you from ransomware today and in the future. Being flexible and scalable in essence, cloud services enable us to keep up with the changes and developments in the malware landscape. In other words, while the nature of the attack is unlikely to change, the delivery method will and cloud services have the agility to adjust aptly. Security Layers – In most cases, the layers of security over cloud are considerably better than of any other private server. Typically, clouds are a sophisticated combination of elaborate access controls and encrypted technology with the capacity to expand. Plus, many of them provide protection against DDoS attacks which makes them all the more useful. Backups – Due to reliability and resiliency, backing up your data with a cloud storage is far more efficient. When stored on local storage, frequent backups consume a lot of storage resources and negatively affect computer performance. With the cloud, backups of your information, data and documents can be frequent, and the streamlined failover process provides you with the comfortable safety of backup recovery. A recommended approach is to rely on several clouds simultaneously which provides a much more expansive protections without excessively high costs or unbearable complexity. How do you know cloud is worth your time? According to MarketsAndMarkets, the cloud security market will be valued at impressive $8.71 billion by 2019, so companies are ready to invest more and more to improve and strengthen the safety of the cloud environments from malicious attacks. Cloud storage, although not the ultimate weapon against ransomware attacks, is by far one of the most efficient ways to protect your information without excessive spending or applying overly complicated scenarios. It’s also most likely to scale and thus continue withstanding cybercrime in the future. Nonetheless, it is crucial you select your cloud service carefully as not all are equal. Source: http://www.dos-protection.co.uk/wp-admin/post-new.php

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Can Cloud Storage save you from Ransomware Attacks?

Cloud is adding to network complexity, report says

A third of respondents indicated that the cloud adds the greatest network complexity to their organisation. Cloud adoption is still the ‘most vexing factor’ in increased network complexity, according to a new report by Kentik. The report, based on a poll of 203 IT professionals attending the Cisco Live 2017 annual conference, says cloud adoption is followed by IoT, SDN, and networks functions virtualisation (NFV). It also says that most organisations still aren’t ready for network automation, even though machine learning is seen as ‘important technology for network management’. More than a third (36 per cent) of respondents said cloud adds the greatest network complexity to their organisations. They can still improve operational visibility for cloud and digital business networking, it was added. According to the report, organisations need to be able to spot DDoS attacks better. A third (32 per cent) said they’re using DDoS detection technology. The majority of organisations (70 per cent) says using the same stack of tools to manage both network performance and security hinders operational efficiency. More than half (59 per cent), however, added that their organisation is not yet using the same stack of tools. “There is a lot of noise in our industry right now about intuitive systems and new-age machine learning that can monitor, identify and react to network conditions before issues occur. However, dozens of our largest customers have been telling us, and our survey results from Cisco Live support, that the key 2016 and 2017 enterprise efforts have focused on getting complete visibility into increasingly hybrid network complexity; detecting and preventing DDoS; and integrating tools that can provide operational and business value from network analytics,” said Avi Freedman, co-founder and CEO of Kentik. “Full automation outside of constrained data centre and cloud topologies is still a vision that customers are tracking, but network operators say that they need deeper and comprehensive visibility into their network’s performance and security before they can let their networks run autonomously.” “Real-time network traffic intelligence is a critical component for network operators supporting their organizations with digital transformation,” he added. Source: http://www.dos-mitigation.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

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Cloud is adding to network complexity, report says