(Newswire.net — October 24, 2016) — Dozens of the most popular websites were unavailable on Friday after a cyber-attack on major DNS service provider.
A group of hackers claimed responsibility for several attacks that impacted more than 80 popular websites, including PayPal, Reddit and Twitter.
The first attack on the New Hampshire-based server occurred Friday morning, but Dyn DNS Company managed to resolve the issue within a few hours. However, a second attack began in the early afternoon followed by a third, Russia Today reports.
Dyn DNS managed to resolve all issues by 6:30pm, however, the damage and the fear of vulnerability remained.
The nature of the attacks revealed that no matter how much protection a website has, ultimately it means nothing if it succumbs to these types of attacks. To understand the issue, we must understand that the Domain Name Server (DNS) is like one large cable TV provider. Websites are like channels and when you chose a channel to watch, the provider connects you to the channel. If there are issues with one or two channels, we do not have to go after the television station, they are just made unavailable.
Off course, when websites like PayPal or Amazon are unavailable, it is a much more serious problem than if we miss a reality show. Though the DNS provider reacted quickly and efficiently, this attack showed us two horrifying truths.
First, there are no websites that are entirely secure and that can’t be reached. As soon as content is online, there is always the risk that it may become compromised. Second, the attacks showed us how internet dependent we have become.
So was this a hack? Not exactly. While some companies that handle money transfers, such as PayPal and Amazon, were affected, there is currently no evidence that any information was breached. PayPal told Reuters that its networks had not been hacked.
Given that many people use the websites that were attacked, the first important question is not how the hackers managed to pull this off, but why they did it.
According to activist and web consultant Gissur Simonarson, the group New World Hackers is behind the attacks. According to him, the New World Hackers representative claimed the attack was “an annual power test,” and “this is actually against Russia.”
The second most import question is do those who hold the power to leave the world without the Internet have similar powers as those who have nuclear weapons? And how exactly is this attack against the Russian Federation?
The aim of the test was supposedly to prove to the Russian hackers that they are better and to avert them from further meddling with the US network. “Russia is pretty much saying they are better than the US by hacking into everything, attempting to start a war. We will show them a war,” the attackers allegedly said.
Threatening the “big stick” is typical behavior of those who possess a nuclear missile arsenal; however, it would be the first time the stick has backfired while demonstrating the damage it can cause.
In addition, the member of New World Hackers allegedly told Anon Intel: “We don’t want federal agents on our ass. That’s why we are in Russia.”
What we have is a scenario where we are told that hackers from Russia attacked western companies to demonstrate their power as a warning to Russian hackers. Raise a hand if you think this is “slightly” odd.
It is highly unlikely that there is a hacker group with so much power aimed against Russia that the Kremlin is oblivious to. If the claim is not true, then that means that the Russians have serious hacking power that can reset the whole planet.
The third possibility is even worse, that there is a totally independent organization that doesn’t care who it hits, which sounds like a conspiracy theory and one in which the world will need a superhero to take down such an untouchable threat.
Unlikely as it seems, one theory says that the attacks on the US internet started as a response to a media spin that Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, went missing and may have been assassinated. The whistleblower’s website reacted by tweeting Saturday “Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing. We ask supporters to stop taking down the US internet. You proved your point.”
The only fact that we are sure about is that the attack was real, and it could happen again, at anytime.