DNS servers do hackers' dirty work
View at CNET News.com
In a twist on distributed denial-of-service attacks, cybercriminals are using DNS servers--the phonebooks of the Internet--to amplify their assaults and disrupt online business.
Earlier this year, VeriSign experienced attacks on its systems that were larger than anything it had ever seen before, it said last week. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which helps companies do business on the Web, discovered that the assaults weren't coming from commandeered 'bot' computers, as is common. Instead, its machines were under attack by DNS (domain name system) servers.
'DNS is now a major vector for DDOS,' Dan Kaminsky, a security researcher said, referring to distributed denial-of-service attacks. 'The bar has been lowered. People with fewer resources can now launch potentially crippling attacks.'
Just as in any DDOS attack, the target system--which could be a victim's Web server, name server or mail server--is inundated with a multitude of data coming from multiple systems on the Internet. The goal is to make the
In a twist on distributed denial-of-service attacks, cybercriminals are using DNS servers--the phonebooks of the Internet--to amplify their assaults and disrupt online business.Earlier this year, VeriSign experienced attacks on its systems that were larger than anything it had ever seen before, it said last week. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which helps companies do business on the Web, discovered that the assaults weren't coming from commandeered 'bot' computers, as is common. Instead, its machines were under attack by DNS (domain name system) servers.
'DNS is now a major vector for DDOS,' Dan Kaminsky, a security researcher said, referring to distributed denial-of-service attacks. 'The bar has been lowered. People with fewer resources can now launch potentially crippling attacks.'
Just as in any DDOS attack, the target system--which could be a victim's Web server, name server or mail server--is inundated with a multitude of data coming from multiple systems on the Internet. The goal is to make the
Comments
Post a Comment