Slashdot Mirror
UK, Not North Korea, Is Source of DDoS Attacks
angry tapir writes "The UK was the likely source of a series of attacks last week that took down popular Web sites in the US and South Korea, according to an analysis performed by a Vietnamese computer security researcher. The results contradict assertions made by some in the US and South Korean governments that North Korea was behind the attack. Security analysts had been skeptical of the claims, which were reportedly made in off-the-record briefings and for which proof was never delivered." The Vietnamese security site's blog is linked from the article, but it is very slow even before Slashdotting. The researchers observed 166,908 zombies participating in the attacks — a number far larger than most earlier estimates.
Update: 07/14 21:24 GMT by KD : Wired is reporting that the UK owner of the IP address in question is pointing a finger at a server in Florida, which it says opened a VPN to the UK machine for the attacks. Once again, the attacker could be anywhere.
Update: 07/14 21:24 GMT by KD : Wired is reporting that the UK owner of the IP address in question is pointing a finger at a server in Florida, which it says opened a VPN to the UK machine for the attacks. Once again, the attacker could be anywhere.
The article has no real indication that anything was the source, just that the last hop the analyst was able to track was in the UK...which means?
For the love of Heaven! The war has been over for 226 years! Get over it, already!
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Just because most of the IP's involved were from the UK does not mean that N.Korea wasn't responsible.
I have to wonder how one 'creates' such a geography specific botnet. Do they have UK spam with words like bollocks? Or in the USA is it 'gun porn'? I bet they use 'Tim Hortons' to catch the Canadians. =)
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
If true, this is kind of like the time the US accused North Korea of creating really authentic-looking counterfeit 100 dollar bills, and then it turned out that they are probably coming from within the US - possibly from the CIA to fund covert operations.
I hate to say it, but maybe Kim Jong Il isn't crazy when he claims the Western governments are part of a big conspiracy to falsely ruin his image (hah!)
Fortunately, we can count on the British government to respond with reasoned caution, and with the utmost respect for citizens' future privacy and freedom.
And now we want our Empire back...
I just can't believe that they've blown our cover so soon, I thought that dragging America into end-less wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was a brilliant move (did you seriously think that BUSH came up with the idea?) and the latest shift towards economic desolation via cyber attacks was extremely well thought out.
And why can we do this.... Because WE HAVE A FLAG!
Okay back to plan B of being crap at sports we invent but quite polite about losing.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Slashdot mentality always seems to be that any contradicting reports beat the initial report.
No it doesn't.
(waits for the +5 insightful mod)
Yes it is...
North Korea didn't, but we are meant to think they did. These packets are side by side. Koreans always ping single file to hide their numbers. And these SYN attacks, too accurate for North Koreans. Only British hackers are so precise.