Hackers infected around three million smart toothbrushes with malware and used them to launch a DDoS attack on a Swiss company's website, resulting in the loss of millions of Euros. The toothbrush botnet was vulnerable due to its Java-based OS, and cybersecurity experts warn that any device connected to the internet is a potential target for hackers. Stefan Zuger from Fortinet provided tips on protecting connected devices, emphasizing the ongoing arms race between device makers and cyber criminals.
An eight-year-old cybercrime syndicate called Bigpanzi has been found to have infected potentially millions of smart TVs and set-top boxes with a DDoS botnet, using an Android-based malware called pandoraspear. The botnet, which hijacks devices for cybercrimes including DDoS attacks and content hijacking, poses a significant threat to social order and stability. Security researchers at Chinese security firm Qianxin are actively investigating and seeking collaboration to combat the Bigpanzi group and maintain cybersecurity.
Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have successfully mitigated the largest DDoS layer 7 attacks ever recorded in August and September. The attacks exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the HTTP/2 protocol, overwhelming servers by sending and canceling hundreds of thousands of requests to websites. Google experienced the heaviest assault at over 398 million requests per second, while Cloudflare saw 201 million requests per second, both breaking previous records. Amazon recorded the fewest requests at 155 million per second. Microsoft also confirmed that its cloud infrastructure was affected.
Destiny 2 has been plagued by DDoS attacks for a week, rendering the game close to unplayable. Bungie has confirmed the attacks but has been unable to regain control. Players are experiencing frequent disconnections, leading to frustration and a decline in player count. The situation is so severe that some players have chosen not to play until the issue is resolved. Bungie's efforts to combat the attacks have been ongoing, but the duration and resolution of the situation remain uncertain. DDoS attacks are difficult to combat, and finding the culprits is challenging. Bungie is working to address the issue, but the impact on the game is significant.
World of Warcraft players are experiencing login issues and lag with systems like the Auction House and Group Finders. Blizzard has acknowledged the problem and is currently investigating the issue with their authentication servers. The cause of the problem is still unknown, and it is unclear if it is related to a DDoS attack.
DDoS attacks caused connectivity issues for Diablo IV and other Battle.net games over the weekend, but Blizzard has announced that the attacks have ended. The attacks caused high latency and disconnections, preventing many players from logging in. Blizzard has experienced similar attacks in the past, and there is no indication as to why they were targeted this time. Despite the end of the attacks, players may still experience connectivity issues and should refer to Blizzard's troubleshooting page.
Microsoft has confirmed that the June service outages for Outlook and OneDrive were caused by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks carried out by Anonymous Sudan. The attacks were primarily designed to generate publicity for a threat actor named Storm-1359, and Microsoft believes the group likely relied on a combination of virtual private servers and rented cloud infrastructure to carry out the operation. The company has seen no evidence that customer data was accessed or compromised. Some cybersecurity researchers believe Anonymous Sudan is an offshoot of the Kremlin-affiliated Killnet gang, and the reference to Sudan is a false flag designed to mislead casual onlookers.
Microsoft has confirmed that recent outages to Azure, Outlook, and OneDrive web portals resulted from Layer 7 DDoS attacks against the company's services by a threat actor tracked by Microsoft as Storm-1359, who calls themselves Anonymous Sudan. The attacks overwhelmed the services with a massive volume of requests, causing the services to hang as they cannot process them all. Anonymous Sudan has targeted organizations and government agencies worldwide, taking them down in DDoS attacks or leaking stolen data. The group has demanded payments to stop the attacks and has claimed to form a "DARKNET parliament" consisting of other pro-Russia groups.
Microsoft has confirmed that the early June disruptions to its flagship office suite, including Outlook email and OneDrive file-sharing apps, and cloud computing platform were caused by DDoS attacks by a group named Storm-1359. The attackers used rented cloud infrastructure and virtual private networks to bombard Microsoft servers from botnets of zombie computers around the globe. Microsoft has not disclosed the magnitude of the attacks or the number of customers affected. The company said there was no evidence any customer data was accessed or compromised.
Microsoft has confirmed that the early June disruptions to its flagship office suite, including Outlook email and OneDrive file-sharing apps, and cloud computing platform were caused by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks by a group called Anonymous Sudan. The attackers used rented cloud infrastructure and virtual private networks to bombard Microsoft servers from botnets of zombie computers around the globe. Microsoft said there was no evidence any customer data was accessed or compromised. The attacks were focused on disruption and publicity, and it is not clear how many customers were affected or whether the impact was global.
Outlook.com is experiencing outages due to technical issues, according to Microsoft, but hacktivists known as Anonymous Sudan claim to be behind the disruptions, performing DDoS attacks on the service to protest US involvement in Sudanese affairs. The group has taunted Microsoft and demanded a $1 million payment to stop the attacks. The service has been sluggish and plagued by outages over the past 24 hours, causing disruptions for global Outlook users.
