Fergie's Tech Blog

Lessons for Your Website from U.S., S. Korean Attacks

Robert Lemos writes on ComputerWorld:

On July 4, a botnet estimated to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 compromised computers received new marching orders: Attack five U.S. government Web sites.

By Tuesday, the attack had widened, hitting at least 26 government, financial and news Web sites in the United States and South Korea. The attack escaped the notice of many network monitoring firms, who labeled it a "modest" packet flood, but severely impacted some of the targeted sites. Many sites, such as the White House's online hub, stoically weathered the attack, while others, such as the Federal Trade Commission's site, became inaccessible for long hours or days.

Companies should look at the attacks as a reminder to test their preparedness, says Amit Yoran, CEO of security firm NetWitness and the former head of the National Cyber Security Division at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"If this can happen to mature organizations that really understand what the threat environment looks like-and are still falling victim to this stuff-it sends an ominous signal to other companies, who might not be as ready as they would like," says Yoran.

posted by Fergie @ 7/09/2009 05:53:00 PM