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story category Cyber-Attack On U.S. Larger Than Previously Believed
Aimed at agencies, stock exchanges, and Washington Post
01:30PM Wednesday Jul 08 2009 by Karl Bode
tags: security · world
Tipped by tmpchaos See Profile
According to the Associated Press, a major recent botnet cyber-attack on the U.S. and South Korean governments was drastically larger than originally believed, targeting the White House, the Pentagon, both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, the NSA, Department Of Homeland Security, the State Department -- and the Washington Post. South Korean intelligence officials believe the attacks were carried out by North Korea or pro-Pyongyang organizations. Several websites, including the Treasury and Secret Service sites, were knocked completely offline for several days. The apparently unfazed Washington Post has additional detail.

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Forums » Cyber-Attack On U.S. Larger Than Previously Believed
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svnmn

join:2002-10-25
Genoa, IL

could not ping opendns servers

I am wondering if the attack whacked them somehow. Problem began about 10 am CDT give or take an hour.

TKJunkMail
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1 edit

Re: could not ping opendns servers

said by svnmn See Profile :

I am wondering if the attack whacked them somehow. Problem began about 10 am CDT give or take an hour.
No problem here, pinging opendns DNS servers or accessing their web site.


»www.opendns.com/
»Cyber attacks hitting U.S. & S.Korean gov't sites
--
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mike1965
Geek4rent

join:2002-09-23
Marion, IL

Re: could not ping opendns servers

I think it cause wide spead DNS issues too, I use open DNS and until about 30 min ago I could not access many websites including this one, when calling Verizon DSL tech support said all lines were full.....

I also could not ping the open DNS servers...i think the DOS attacks were even more wide spread than news is reporting

Matt
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Jamestown, NC
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Re: could not ping opendns servers

said by mike1965 See Profile :

I think it cause wide spead DNS issues too, I use open DNS and until about 30 min ago I could not access many websites including this one, when calling Verizon DSL tech support said all lines were full.....

I also could not ping the open DNS servers...i think the DOS attacks were even more wide spread than news is reporting
Verizon had a major outage at their IAD node today.
svnmn

join:2002-10-25
Genoa, IL
Yeah they are ok from here too now. I wonder if a route got broken for a bit there. I'm on verizon dsl here in Illinois/USA.
PapaMidnight

join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

said by TKJunkMail See Profile :

said by svnmn See Profile :

I am wondering if the attack whacked them somehow. Problem began about 10 am CDT give or take an hour.
No problem here, pinging opendns DNS servers or accessing their web site.
Likewise. No issues here all day.

BIGMIKE
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Westminster, CA

SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?

»www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4wk6jSNZU8
mlundin

join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS

Re: could not ping opendns servers

:rock:

antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
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Wilkes Barre, PA

said by BIGMIKE See Profile :

SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?

Evil North Korea and Kim Jong-il. have a new and improved WOPR computer (War Operation Plan Response) now with 50 blade servers each having quad core Intel processors, Intel Motherboard and 6 gigs of Ram running Linux Fedora Redhat. The new WOPR computer was used to launch a huge DOS attack against the United States.

WarGame Nostalgia fans should look here:
»www.imsai.net/movies/wargames.htm#WOPR
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSAI_8080
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cork1958
Cork

join:2000-02-26
Fruitport, MI
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Seemed like about half the internet was unresponsive for about half an hour here yesterday.

It just went poof, instantly from fast to slow and back to fast.
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DLTurner

@verizon.net

Concur - something was going on!

Late this morning, EDT, I found that I was not able to access many web sites, but I could get to others. Among those that I could not access was actually this one, dslreports.com, as well as wtopnews.com, embarq.com, aol.com, and fws.gov. However, I could reach yahoo.com, washingtonpost.com, latimes.com. Most interesting, is that qwest.com and qwest.net were both inaccessible, so I can only wonder if something whacked a major backbone on the 'net. Since I use opendns for my primary and secondary dns, it appeared to be functioning, since I got to some web sites, just not others.

Time
Premium
join:2003-07-05

Re: Concur - something was going on!

Quest is a major contractor to the NSA, so it's no surprise if they were knocked offline.

JP in Virginia

@netsol.com
Verizon had routing issues in Northern Virginia on some of the old UUnet IP space. it wasn't due to the attacks.

gambothell

join:2006-02-26
Bothell, WA

Financial Institutions also included

I could not get to US Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, BOA. Amusingly, I also could not get to DSL Reports! I am using FIOS. I changed my DNS to a generic with no major improvement. The problem cleared around 9:30 PDT

Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:

Act of War?

At what point do we start treating this as an act of war, and respond with military force? Mind you I don't think we need to kill anyone, but a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
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ender7074

join:2006-11-21
Saint Louis, MO
·AT&T Southeast

Re: Act of War?

A war is just what that little maniac wants. He's out of control and starting to see the end of his life creeping up. I'd bet money that hes trying to pick a fight for some delusional idea of absorbing South Korea before he dies.
--
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lesopp

join:2001-06-27
Land O Lakes, FL

1 edit

Re: Act of War?

He is trying to entice the US or ROK to fire first. China's policy is that they will only respond to defend the DPRK if they are not the aggressor so if they fire the first shot then supposedly China will not respond.

Mac Bridger
Beat It Again Bill
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Re: Act of War?

It's fast coming a time that they will be a threat to China as well. I think it's far more likely the Chinese will invade somewhere down the line.
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mlundin

join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS
·Sunflower Broadband
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I say we f#&king give him one. So far, by my count, he's 1-1 in managing to not screw up detonating a small nuke in a controlled test underground. Last I checked, we here in the good ol' US of A had a couple hundred spare warheads sitting atop missiles that we could stand to get rid of. So lets rain down some fire on these bitches and write 'em off to the annals of history.

Jeffrey
too dark too early
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said by Camelot One See Profile :

At what point do we start treating this as an act of war, and respond with military force? Mind you I don't think we need to kill anyone, but a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
I was sort of thinking the same thng. At what point does this become something other than to just recognize that it's happening.

Why can't this be taken to the UN? Not that it would help, as nothing with any militarily backbone would be the result, but we could at least add it to the list of shit that the DPRK is doing wrong. With that said, I'm generally fan of a few cruise missiles to get a point across, but that's not a popular decision right now.
--
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[my ramblings]

NOVA_Guy
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said by Camelot One See Profile :

a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
Anyone from the government coming to "talk" to me about anything in my home without a warrant and force to back it up will not even make it inside my door, assuming I'm home.

The last thing we need is a bunch of government thugs going around to people's houses and toying with their computers. My trust in all that they do these days is about as low as it can be.
--
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funchords
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Re: Act of War?

said by NOVA_Guy See Profile :

said by Camelot One See Profile :

a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
Anyone from the government coming to "talk" to me about anything in my home without a warrant and force to back it up will not even make it inside my door, assuming I'm home.
Chill out, Goober. *IF* the government sends someone by your house, it was probably someone like me who sent them. (And the someone will likely be sent by your ISP.) They WON'T have a warrant or any particular powers and if you'll take 5 minutes and calmly listen to what they're asking and why, you'll probably be able to take care of the problem yourself (although I doubt someone here on DSLReports would ever find themselves in that position).

said by NOVA_Guy See Profile :

The last thing we need is a bunch of government thugs going around to people's houses and toying with their computers. My trust in all that they do these days is about as low as it can be.
Just keep your "reasonableness" hat on. Government that behaves well should be rewarded. When you start becoming unglued from the outset makes you look unreasonable, not the government.
--
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Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth, or by misleading the innocent. --Spock and McCoy stardate 5029.5

Mr Neutron
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Re: Act of War?

said by funchords See Profile :

Just keep your "reasonableness" hat on. Government that behaves well should be rewarded.
I agree entirely. You'll call me when the US government starts behaving reasonably, won't you?

said by funchords See Profile :

When you start becoming unglued from the outset makes you look unreasonable, not the government.
I'm guessing you don't have many Indian (or "Native American" if you prefer) friends, do you?

If I'm guessing wrong, you really ought to have a chat with them about how "reasonable" the US government is. I think you'll find the Feds have a marked tendency to take the heavy-handed approach, given half a chance. Why? Well, because they can.
--
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funchords
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Re: Act of War?

said by Mr Neutron See Profile :

said by funchords See Profile :

When you start becoming unglued from the outset makes you look unreasonable, not the government.
I'm guessing you don't have many Indian (or "Native American" if you prefer) friends, do you?

If I'm guessing wrong, you really ought to have a chat with them about how "reasonable" the US government is.
Let's try to stay within the vicinity of the topic, shall we?

said by Mr Neutron See Profile :

I think you'll find the Feds have a marked tendency to take the heavy-handed approach, given half a chance. Why? Well, because they can.
This is often true, regardless of any interpretation of ancient Indian affairs, and it's true of state and local government as well. That said, we are not at war with our government nor is it the enemy. It is not only wrong to act like we are, if I can't convince you of at that least, then I point out that it is simply inefficient to do so.
--
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Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth, or by misleading the innocent. --Spock and McCoy stardate 5029.5

dslhater
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Jwobot

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said by NOVA_Guy See Profile :

said by Camelot One See Profile :

a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
Anyone from the government coming to "talk" to me about anything in my home without a warrant and force to back it up will not even make it inside my door, assuming I'm home.

The last thing we need is a bunch of government thugs going around to people's houses and toying with their computers. My trust in all that they do these days is about as low as it can be.
»www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/fcc-raid/

funchords
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Re: Act of War?

Despite the "FCC Raid" title of the URL and the title of the article that it links, the "feds" did not make entry in either of the two examples that were listed. The "thugs" didn't toy with anyone's gear.

In both cases, had they actually made entry, the article is clear about what they would have found.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL
Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth, or by misleading the innocent. --Spock and McCoy stardate 5029.5
Sammer

join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

The real question is when will the Chinese government treat this crackpot's actions as a serious threat to their security. Yes he's threatening the security of our allies the Republic of Korea and Japan but destabilizing that area of the world is a much bigger threat to China than it is to us.

KrK
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Re: Act of War?

He's their ally.

Now, if North Korea had knocked the Micheal Jackson memorial offline, well, it would have been war for sure.
--
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DataDoc
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Re: Act of War?

said by KrK See Profile :

Now, if North Korea had knocked the Micheal Jackson memorial offline, well, it would have been wonderful
Fixed it.
--
"You see what you want to see, and you hear what you want to hear" - The Rockman
NOCTech75

join:2009-06-29
Marietta, GA
·AT&T Southeast

said by KrK See Profile :

He's their ally.

Now, if North Korea had knocked the Micheal Jackson memorial offline, well, it would have been war for sure.
I think I would have paid for that.

KrK
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We could simply severely curtail their Internet access. Be easy, cut all the direct links and force all North Korea stuff to have to go thru China first, then we could have their traffic dropped by the backbone routers, etc.

I think we're trying to avoid going that route, however. I think US policy is to encourage Internet access everywhere (despite the risks) because it works against dictatorships and oppressive regimes. (See Iran's recent example.)
--
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Camelot One
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Re: Act of War?

said by KrK See Profile :

We could simply severely curtail their Internet access. Be easy, cut all the direct links and force all North Korea stuff to have to go thru China first, then we could have their traffic dropped by the backbone routers, etc.
For anything else I would agree. But this wasn't/isn't a case of North Korean owned computers causing the problem. They (allegedly) are controlling the botnet, but the botnet itself is likely global. Its made up of thousands of home and business computers owned by people either too ignorant or too arrogant to care about securing their computers. Cutting every hardline in or out of NK wouldn't help. What we need to do is cut internet access for anyone infected.
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KrK
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Re: Act of War?

There could be an accidental EMP over NK airspace

moc1man

join:2003-12-09
Falls Church, VA

said by Camelot One See Profile :

At what point do we start treating this as an act of war, and respond with military force? Mind you I don't think we need to kill anyone, but a couple guys showing up to "talk" to you about your botnet infected computer doesn't seem out of line at all.
Not that I know anything but; This situation allowed the U.S. a rare opportunity to observe a cyber attack against us, and test our defenses. Every nation / state / operator that can, watched and took copious notes. At the end of the day, we will be better prepared for future attacks. Our government may have known of the attack months before it was launched, hence the "first ever cyber security czar".

I believe that cyber warfare is about establishing buried bot networks that execute and render your target vulnerable for exploitation. This attack, while substantial and effective at times. Caused more risk for the attacker than damage to the targets! perhaps it masked something more sinister elsewhere, only time will tell.

ztmike
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1 edit

Comcast working fine

Everything has been working fine here..

Using Comcast with OpenDNS

Chiyo
Save Me Konata-Chan
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Minneapolis, MN
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Re: Comcast working fine

Yep for once Comcast is great :P

biggbrother
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Providence, RI

Fourth of July = No One Cared

Form the enemy's point of view, not a good time to launch a DOS attack when nearly everyone was at family BBQs and didn't need to access those sites over the holiday weekend anyway. And the NYSE was closed anyway.
--
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Grail Knight
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join:2003-05-31
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Fourth of July = No One Cared

Of course a smart enemy would pick a holiday weekend just to send a message that we cut you slack this time but next time it will happen during the work week.

Just a thought.
--
One good conspiracy theory deserves another.
kieranmullen
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Portland, OR
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Re: Fourth of July = No One Cared

Why just cut off their peering point to US providers? Unless they are using the Russian Mafia's bot network.
--
KieranMullen »360oregon.com

Grail Knight
Who Dares Wins
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·Verizon Online DSL

Re: Fourth of July = No One Cared

Could not tell you I am not privy to their game plan.

North Korea is in the hands of an unbalanced man so anything is possible. He may just want to go out in a blaze of glory by invading the South.
--
One good conspiracy theory deserves another.

UnKown
The Underground Network

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Orlando, FL
that wouldnt work because the infected computers can be all over the world including the u.s. in fact for there attacks to be affective they would have to have computers effected in the u.s and around the world
kieranmullen
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Re: Fourth of July = No One Cared

You only read the first sentence. That is why had also said "Unless there are using a bot network"
--
KieranMullen »360oregon.com
jester121

join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

Can't find good journalism these days...

You have to read through until the 4th paragraph of the AP report to figure out that this attack was last weekend. Any anomalies you are experiencing today are probably not due to the same nefarous activities.
munky99999
Munky

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canada
clubs:

cyberattacks

4chan is still being ddosed.

Has been going on for days now.

F walker
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Anchorage, AK
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Re: cyberattacks

Who cares....

4chan is the butthole of the internet.

CeroSan



Re: cyberattacks

said by F walker See Profile :

Who cares....

4chan is the butthole of the internet.
Yes, because we all know the only board that matters on 4chan is /b/.
rmdir

join:2003-03-13
Chicago, IL

Re: cyberattacks

Well, if 4chan is being affected then it's time to go nuclear.
Seriously, this is the only good news to come out of the whole affair.

major marco
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Stepford, CA
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Armchair Generals, Calm The Fk WAY Down

Several websites, including the Treasury and Secret Service sites, were knocked completely offline [...]
LMAO. And why exactly is this worthy of a response with deadly force? It's not like either the Treasury OR the SS web sites, or any other web site for that matter, have any kind of life or death relevance to the population.

See 8 replies to this post

Smith6612
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1 edit

I did notice something...

I did notice that the internet felt a little slower in terms of loading up content, but as per speeds or DNS, things were fine here, didn't have any issues reaching sites or loading up sites. I do know that a few of the game servers I've been playing on have been getting DDoS'd by script kiddies as of late, making the server unusable for a few minutes and forcing half of the people to leave while the other half barely remain connected :\

Has anyone else noticed stocks tanking slowly since this attack took place? Thought I'd point that out.
--
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F walker
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Re: I did notice something...

I saw Yahoo was at a 3 month low

Smith6612
Premium
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united state

Re: I did notice something...

Might be a result of Geosites shutting down, could be anything really.
cpsycho

join:2008-06-03
Orangeville, ON

o.O

Sorry guys this was my fault I hooked up a hampster wheel to my toaster and plugged my network cable into it. Guess it confused the hell out of the internet.
NormanS
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join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC

Re: o.O

Man, don't ever do that again! I've still got hamster droppings littering the floor under the unused ports of switches and wall plates, all where the CAT5e cabling runs in this house!
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
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RailRoadDude
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Redwood Valley, CA

1 edit

/

//
Forums » Cyber-Attack On U.S. Larger Than Previously Believed


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