Project Shield (a cybersecurity initiative by Google) reportedly helped save security blog Krebs on Security from one of the most vicious distributed denial-of-service (or DDoS) attacks ever reported. The attack was carried out on an unknown date, but lasted about two weeks and reached more than 620Gbps in size. The largest attack recorded so far in 2016.
Krebs on Security is an online blog on cybersecurity maintained by expert Brian Krebs who has been responsible for exposing various famous hacks via this platform on previous occasions.
His latest work concerned vDOS, a piece of software meant to be used in DDoS attacks. According to TechSpot, Krebs revealed in an article the creators of vDOS were Israeli teenagers Yarden Bidani and Itay Huri, a statement that might have prompted retaliation.
Akamai Technologies quit on Krebs on Security
Krebs on Security is back in business, but his security provider, Akamai Technologies, who ran the website pro bono, reportedly ended up removing KoS from its network. The company initially defended the site against the attack, with the help of DDoS protection service Prolexic (also owned by Akamai), but sustained significant losses.
That situation forced Akamai Technologies to quit supporting KoS, with another reason being the added risk of future attacks to their network.
Akamai is a leading content delivery network (or CDN) based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It provides various media and software delivery services, including cybersecurity in the cloud. It owns Prolexic Technologies, a company located in Hollywood that develops applications specifically designed for protections against DDoS attacks.
The reasons behind the biggest DDoS attack reported so far
Google’s Project Shield is a free service that uses Google technology for news websites to protect themselves against DDoS attacks on the web. Any site can apply to enjoy the service, which opened its doors to the public on February 25th. It focuses on protecting websites whose content relates to media, political elections, human rights or free speech.
Brian Krebs, born in Alabama on 1972, is a journalist who has covered many instances of cyber-crime beginning in 2001. He is a famous American expert on cyber security and has helped uncover many hacking scandals and attacks around the world.
vDOS is a ‘booter’ service that can be purchased online and be used to coordinate a DDoS attack. On September 8, Krebs released an article accusing Bidani and Huri of being responsible for “several decades” worth of DDoS attacks and pointed out that they had made about $600,000 in two years.
Source: ZDNet
