A massive army of 1.5 million bots was pinned against cybersecurity researcher Brian Krebs. The attacks may be without precedent. Its probably the largest botnet strike on a single person.
Cyber Street Justice – DDoS attacks
Brian Krebs is a journalist security specialist who’s who’s known for investigating cybercriminal activity. The attacks on his official site were likely carried out by crooks he was investigating. 1.5 million IoT (Internet of Things) devices. The botnet was mainly comprised of cameras connected to the Internet.
The Site Went Offline for a Few Days. Krebs Had This to Say:
“KrebsOnSecurity hit with record DDoS attack. Akamai: Someone has a botnet with capabilities we haven’t seen before”
The attack was so big that Akamai withdrew their protection of the domain. Up until now, Brian Krebs’s site was protected by them for free. The DDoS attack was so severe that they wouldn’t be able to do that any longer due to financial losses. Krebs’s site is under constant attacks, so their withdraw is understandable from a financial point of view.
Dangerous Things
The IoT is proving to be a major element of the organizing of botnet attacks. Smart devices are getting more popular, which makes it easier for crooks to launch these massive botnet campaigns. Nowadays, even vibrators can be connected to the Internet.
These capabilities are troubling for a number of reasons. Brian Krebs posts a lot of valuable information that can help improving the safety of the Internet. These attacks can be seen as a type of censorship. The site was unavailable for a few days.
Botnets, Internet Safety, and User-friendliness
The threat of botnets isn’t limited to DDoS attacks. The infamous Necurs botnet helps to distribute Locky, one of the most dangerous ransomware viruses right now. The massive email spam that spreads Locky would be impossible without a strong botnet.
The growing market for “smart” devices has helped the botnet epidemic immensely. People rarely check if their camera is being used by malware. Smart devices are often very user-friendly which means that people with next to no technical skill may use them. That makes it easier for crooks to abuse the devices, since your grandma wouldn’t know how to check if her smart-dishwasher is infected. Luckily, there are ways to improve your IoT security.
Cameras require Internet access to transmit their footage, which makes them an easy botnet targets. Back in September, we reported a 40,000 strong botnet that was comprised mainly of cameras.