This morning there was a massive DDoS attack on the data center that hosts GIMP Chat. The host reported upstream providers were being flooded with data.

I'm not sure how long the site was down but anytime there are issues with GIMP Chat, members can check GC's Twitter feed for details. Assuming I'm available and aware of the issue, I'll always post details and updates to that feed and/or #gimpchat.

https://twitter.com/gimpchat

What would this do if anything?

Sad that that happened Tux. They may have been trying to see if there were also any vulnerabilities to exploit too while doing the attach; hope not. Still gun shy about the shellshock exploit since it affects Linux and Unix (BSD systems like Apple is Unix based) too.

I noticed that too when it was down early this morning, but I think it was close to an hr.

The denial of service attack is just that. It floods the system with so much data, it can't do anything but deal with all that data, which results in denying service to everyone and everything else. If you want to prevent a system from doing what it normally does (which could be anything), you can bring it to a grinding halt with a DDoS.

Much of the time, these kinds of attacks can be automatically stopped before they get off the ground. This is normally done by limiting the number of connections from a single IP. It can be more complicated when the DDoS is coordinated from multiple computers/IPs.


Well, they're not going to be doing much during a DDoS attack, which actually happens all the time. Most of the time, we don't even notice because it's dealt with so quickly.

I think much of the time, these attacks are tests to see how well the DDoS attack is working, so it can be used later, when it counts. Many of these "test" attacks are instigated by foreign governments, although we do see bands of hackers/activists who use DDoS to help further their agenda, whatever that might be. Occasionally, it's done by a script kiddie, living in their mother's basement, who does it simply because they can.

Exploits like the shellshock (BASH bug), are used to compromise systems, then those systems become part of the botnet which actually does the DDoS. If you have a staggered DDoS, coming at you from 100s (or 1000s) of places around the globe, it can make things tough and it can keep you down for extended periods of time.

I think in the future we might see more corporate cyberwar. We occasionally hear about one company hacking another to steal their secrets, but I can't think of a DDoS example. For example, say NewEgg wanted more business on Cyber Monday. That would sure be a good time to DDoS Amazon, Tiger Direct and a couple of other big competitors.

I'm surprised that shellshock (BASH bug) lasted so long in the wild. In the open source community, these things are usually spotted faster. Since it was spotted and pointed out, the code has been gone over with a fine tooth comb and several other related exploits were found. Makes you wonder what else might be floating around out there, huh?

I remember when I tried to post something the other night/early morning, ( I tried twice and was unable). I thought maybe you were doing maintenance so just left the site for a while. When I came back later all was well.