Application security

Spam-based attack shuts down Blue Security site

Hackers have launched a massive DDoS attack against the website of Israeli internet security firm Blue Security. As of this afternoon, the website still was down, but company representatives said service to the affected servers gradually was being restored.

"Blue Security's servers are currently under attack," reads a note on the company's homepage. "Our staff is working around the clock to restore normal operation as soon as possible...Thank you for your patience."

Guy Rosen, a Blue Security analyst, told the SANS Internet Storm Center in an email that the company website began receiving spam-based threats and accusations on Monday. He did not elaborate on their content.

By Tuesday, major DDoS attacks were launched on the service's servers "with adverse effects to several different hosting facilities in which they were located," Rosen said.

As a response, the company redirected traffic toa blog, he said. Within an hour, though, hackers began launching DDoS attacks against that site. On Thursday, the attacks continued at an estimated rate of 10 million packets per second as Blue Security worked to relocate its servers.

Disruptions continued today, but Rosen said he was optimistic the site soon would be functioning.

"I have to say that the great lengths spammers have gone to in order to bring us down are worrying, not only in the specific context in which they took place in this last week, but (also) given the general idea that so much power is available to people of this nature and that they are willing to use it in order to see things go their way," Rosen said. "Seeing us as a threat, they did not seem to care who they brought down on the way."

SANS said at least one other security firm, whose name was not disclosed, also was experiencing similar DDoS attacks today.

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