DDoS cyber attack can harm you
If you have been reading the papers this morning you already know about Operation Payback, a group looking to avenge what they consider attacks by the corporate world against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Operation Payback attacked and shut down the websites of Assange’s Swiss bank, Amazon, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, Facebook and Twitter. The group whose members collectively call themselves Anonymous, blast websites with a program called DDoS. And it is a threat to you as much as it is to banks, corporate giants and rock stars. Here’s a good explanation of what DDoS is about taken from
“How does a DDoS attack work?
“Individual computers join together to form a collective unit that tries to access the same website thousands of times per second. Most website servers aren’t designed to take that many requests at once, and they collapse under the pressure.
“In many DDoS incidents, computers are directed against their target without the knowledge or consent of their owners. Operation Payback appears to be volunteer-driven, calling upon interested people to download its program and point it at a chosen target.
“Like a firehose pouring into a kitchen sink, a high volume flow can overwhelm a system quickly, causing a server to crash – or a kitchen to become flooded. But in both cases, the problem only lasts as long as the flow continues. Once the firehose turns away, or once Operation Payback targets a new system, the accumulated attempts can wash through – down the drain – and leave little permanent damage.”
For now, Operation Payback uses the computers of their supporters. Who knows if that will change if the group of cyber-attackers decide they need more computers to level attacks at more than one or two sites at a time.
Where will they get those computers? The same place that other DDoS attackers get them, from me and you, usually by hacking into systems and through trojans and malware. While the malware on your computer accesses Facebook a bigglion times a second, try using your computer!
More than ever, be vigilant about your virus protection, and especially avoid opening email from anyone you don’t know and expect to receive email from. Even these measures may not be enough, so back up of your vital data and plan how you can salvage your computer if it starts spewing bullets.
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