Massive cyberattack threatens internet speed
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| Geneva-based non-profit group Spamhaus says it's being hit with a massive cyberattack , apparently from groups angry at being on its blacklist. (Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press) |
A battle between an anti-spam organization and a Dutch web-hosting company has led to a massive cyberattack that threatens to slow down the entire internet.
The Geneva-based non-profit group Spamhaus says it's being hit with a massive cyberattack, apparently from groups angry at being on its blacklist.
It is reportedly the biggest cyberattack in history. Experts warn it could slow things down around the online world, and has the potential to spread to affect email and banking systems.
Five national police forces are investigating the attack, according to the BBC.
Spamhaus carries a constantly updated blacklist of internet service providers suspected of offering refuge for spammers. It reportedly recently blocked the servers of Cyberbunker, a Dutch company that says it will host anything that's not child pornography or related to terrorism.
In an interview, Spamhaus' Vincent Hanna said his site had been hit by a crushing wave of denial-of-service attacks and that it was "a small miracle that we're still online."
Hanna said his group had been weathering such attacks since mid-March. The cyberattacks work by flooding target servers with traffic.
Posted by Unknown
on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.
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