Page 48 - Cyber Defense eMagazine - November 2017

HOW TO DEFEND YOUR BUSINESS AGAINST A

RANSOM DRIVEN DDOS ATTACK

RESPONDING TO THE SURGE IN DDOS RANSOM CAMPAIGNS

by Stephanie Weagle, Vice President, Corero Network Security

Since the inception of the internet, hackers have used DDoS attacks as a vehicle to sabotage
and retaliate. Today, we see a widening array of DDoS targets and tactics as access to an
increased number of DDoS-for-hire tools and services significantly lower the barrier to entry for
anyone looking to cause chaos, benefit from extortion campaigns, gain notoriety or infiltrate
networks.

Anyone can access the depths of the dark web to launch a crippling attack for a nominal price;
DDoS-for-hire botnets offer a subscription-based model enabling the launch of DDoS attacks at
the size, scale or duration required to take a service offline and test existing security defenses.
The anonymity of these services, ease of access and bargain basement prices make it easy for
anyone to launch an attack against unsuspecting victims.

Ransom driven DDoS attacks (RDoS) – a tactic when attackers threaten DDoS attacks unless
paid in cryptocurrency, have been a hacker’s extortion tool of choice for several years, and the
activity appears to come in waves. In recent months RDoS appears to have hit another peak in
popularity targeting organizations across the globe with threats.

September 30 was a key date for RDoS targets– pay up or prepare for a DDoS attack. This
more recent campaign was driven by well-known hacker group Phantom Squad, and it spanned
across industries—from banking and financial institutions, to hosting providers, online gaming
services and software as a service (SaaS) organizations.

Unfortunately, when even one victim chooses to engage with attackers by paying a ransom, we
begin to see an onslaught of these types of attacks. RDoS attacks have grown in frequency as
cyber criminals are constantly on the lookout for more efficient methods to attack systems and
obtain profits. When faced with the costs of their business going offline if a successful DDoS
attack is launched against them, some organizations believe that paying a ransom demand
represents a worthwhile investment.

This approach offers no guarantee that an attack will not be launched, in fact it could result in
just the opposite. It is important to highlight the danger these attacks pose to businesses and
learn how to build a successful defense against them.

48 Cyber Defense eMagazine – November 2017 Edition
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