The attackers are throwing so much digital traffic at online networks
that they have reportedly disrupted access to popular sites such as
Netflix, the on-demand TV streaming service.
Tonight there were fears
that any worsening of the attack could affect web browsing and emails.
The
onslaught has focused attention on the extent to which modern
communications depend on the internet. Matthew Prince, chief executive
of CloudFlare, one of the firms dealing with the assault, likened it to a
series of digital “nuclear bombs”. “It’s so easy to cause so much
damage,” he added.
The attack is believed to have begun last week,
when Spamhaus, an anti-spam organisation, was hit by a wave of digital
traffic that knocked its website offline.
The body draws up lists of
the servers used to send spam messages around the world. Email
administrators use these lists to block spam.
But last week one of
the spammers irked by Spamhouse’s work is believed to have launched the
massive distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack to bring down
the anti-spam group.
Post a Comment