Slashdot Mirror
Death Knell For DDoS Extortion?
Ron writes "Symantec security researcher Yazan Gable has put forward an explanation as to why the number of denial of service attacks has been declining (coincident with the rise of spam). His theory is that DoS attacks are no longer profitable to attackers. While spam and phishing attacks directly generate profit, he argues that extortion techniques often used with DoS attacks are far more risky and often make an attacker no profit at all. Gable writes: 'So what happens if the target of the attack refuses to pay? The DoS extortionist is obligated to carry out a prolonged DoS attack against them to follow through on their threats. For a DoS extortionist, this is the worst scenario because they have to risk their bot network for nothing at all. Since the target has refused to pay, it is likely that they will never pay. As a consequence, the attacker has to spend time and resources on a lost cause.'"
What will come of the 0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0 zombie machines out there? Converted to spam remailers? /yea, I know, -1 redundant, but it is still funny.
The extortion part is difficult though, since the target must decide whether to comply with your demands (i.e. payment) or else just give you a good thrashing.
Karma police, arrest this man. He talks in math. He buzzes like a fridge. He's like a detuned radio.
Got some nuclear research you'd like to do but don't have the resources to create a super computer? rent a botnet!
Perhaps we could make them into a self-aware AI one day, imagine that. an AI running on poorly secured Windows boxes
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
It isn't enough for DOS to stop. I want them to pay for what they have done to my beautiful internet. I want them to bleed and to suffer greatly for crime of extorting moneys from innocent web administrators.
I suggest you read Slashdot
Actually, it sounds more like someone kidnapping someone's wife, only to have the ransom demands met with "keep her!"
"Pay me money or I'll.....post a link on Slashdot!"
"Oh God...anything but that! I'll Pay!"
" i r 1337. j00 a l0z3r "
That talk kinda makes you cry, doesn't it?
That's right..cry those nerdly tears
-- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
What happens when it gets a virus? AI goes crazy? What happens when it becomes self aware and finds out that it is made out of Windows? Self loathing and madness. Scary thoughts.