11-09-2005, 09:25 AM
Quote:Five years ago, network security experts gathered at a NetWorld+Interop conference and issued a dire warning: devastating Denial of Service attacks loom, they said, and they could not have been more prescient. Their call to action wasn't all hype, hyperbole or overreaction. Today, DoS and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against web sites of all sizes are common. Some pack alarming consequences, not to mention generally nasty surprises resulting in jaw-grinding headaches for site administrators.
Compromised hosts -- commonly referred to as zombies or bots -- are everywhere," Arbor Networks said. "All respondents reported attacks involving thousands of compromised hosts, and that zombie networks or botnets, are employed in well over half of all DDoS events."
Motivations for DDoS attacks run the gamut, but highest on the network security providers' list of best hunches were "cyber terrorism/warfare, corporate espionage, disputes between adolescents on gaming sites and cyber protests."...
full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20051109/tc_cmp/173600561