The last week has seen probably the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack ever. It’s being reported in fairly dramatic terms, with the New York Times and BBC talking about the internet getting jammed or slowed down. So what’s actually going on? Here’s a rundown of some key points: A what attack? DDoS attacks, as the “distributed” part suggests, involve large numbers of computers bombarding a target system with traffic, with the idea being to stop that system from functioning. A bunch of South Korean banks and broadcasters got temporarily crippled by such an attack a week ago, for example. Who got hit this time? The intended target appears to be Spamhaus, a European organization that maintains a blacklist of ISPs that supposedly host “spam gangs” and refuse to stop serving them as customers.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.