New | Major websites paralysed by mass hack that weaponised everyday devices to expose the ‘fragility’ of the internet
Armies of computers infected with malicious code are typically used in attacks intended to overwhelm targets with simultaneous online requests
Cyberattacks that pounded the underpinnings of the internet on Friday, crippling Twitter, Netflix and other major websites, were carried out by weaponising once-dumb devices made smart with online connections.
Gadgets like webcams and digital video recorders were used to unleash waves of attacks that incapacitated a crucial piece of internet infrastructure, hampering or outright blocking access to popular online venues.
This is not some hacker sitting in his basement typing away on a keyboard
“When I see something like this, I have to think state actor,” said Carbon Black national security strategist Eric O’Neill, a former “spy hunter” on the FBI counter-intelligence force. “This is not some hacker sitting in his basement typing away on a keyboard.”
The attack was said to put a troubling new spin on an old hacker attack known as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), where millions of devices in the fast-growing internet of things took part in the cyber onslaught.
Armies of computers infected with malicious code are typically used in DDoS attacks intended to overwhelm targets with simultaneous online requests.
Hacker software referred to as Mirai that takes control of IoT devices was evidently linked to the attack, with the broad range of devices making requests helping get past Dyn defences.
Security researchers working with Dyn to investigate the attack have linked it to a network of web-enabled CCTV cameras made by a single Chinese company, XiongMai Technologies, The Guardian reported.
