This week we've seen two Internet events that are more alike than dissimilar. On Wednesday, an Estonian court convicted a 20-year Russian for his part in last spring's distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on that nation. On Thursday, word of mounting DDoS attacks on the Church of Scientology spread. Ultimately, both events could have larger repercussions.
The attack on the Estonian Web sites was prompted by an Estonian government plan to move a statue and grave sites honoring Russian-Estonians who died fighting the Nazis. Gadi Evron of Beyond Security said at last year's Black Hat USA that he found only one case of unique code used in the attacks which lasted from April 27 through mid-May. Evron said the attack had the appearance of an Internet flash mob, and now, with the conviction, it appears to have been loosely organized by a group of college kids. Evron cited evidence of at least one e-mail inciting Internet action on a particular date at a particular time during Estonian attacks.
A similar event is happening now. DDoS attacks against the Church of Scientology appear to be coming from a loosely organized group of individuals calling themselves Anonymous or Anon. The attacks, according to Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks, appear to use common code and early attacks originated from one IP address.
As with the events in Estonia, as news spread, more individuals may now be targeting the Church of Scientology in a sort of "me too" frenzy. A Web site called Project Chanology continues to detail present and future actions by Anonymous and others.
The idea that a handful of skilled individuals could decide to "take out" a particular group or company or government for any reason is a very disturbing one indeed.
A 20-year-old Russian has been convicted for organizing some of the attacks on Estonia's government sites during spring 2007, the Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday.
"Dmitri Galushkevich is the first hacker to be sentenced for organizing a massive cyberattack against an Estonian Web page," Gerrit Maesalu, spokesman for the regional prosecutor's office in northeast Estonia, told the AFP. Galushkevich was fined 17,500 krooni (about $1,600). He admitted his guilt, said Maesalu.
The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which some security experts have alternatively called a flash mob or the first-ever cyberwar, was prompted by an Estonian government plan to move a statue and grave sites honoring Russian-Estonians who died fighting the Nazis. From late April through mid-May 2007, various Internet-based services within Estonia were not accessible.
Estonians rely heavily on the Internet for basic services such as paying for food, water, and gas, said Gadi Evron, security evangelist for Beyond Security. Evron has studied the incident thoroughly. "The more technology there is within a country, the more dependent the country is on technology and therefore, the more vulnerable," he said.
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