Level 3 Communications Blog
Why are particular companies targeted for cyber-attacks? It turns out that most are not specifically targeted. Of course, big companies (particularly those in financial services) as well as some government and law enforcement systems are attacked for very particular reasons. But the majority of attacks on smaller companies are much more random. And that is [...]
In my previous post, we discussed the fundamental types of DDoS attacks — from volumetric attacks, to low and slow application attacks. What makes a DDoS attack different from most any other is that it is targeted, deliberate, and intentional. Conversely, much of the malware in the wild is opportunistic – counting on enough random [...]
I recently attended the Charlotte Metro ISSA Security Summit in Charlotte, NC. For those unfamiliar with the event, it attracts security engineers, architects, managers, and CISOs, as well as network and IT managers from around the country. The purpose is to discuss the latest technologies, trends and best practices in the security industry. In speaking [...]
Everybody has an opinion. I recently asked several colleagues and friends to free-associate when I said the word, “hacktivist.” The responses were interesting (and unsurprisingly, mixed): “social media mercenary,” “conscientious objector,” “Anonymous,” “Wikileaks,”, “online activist,” etc. One comment, in particular, highlights the duality with which much of the public views this new breed of protest: [...]
In my previous post, I discussed botnets and what we see. What I didn’t discuss is what the botnets are often used for. After all, what’s the point of assembling a massive botnet if you aren’t going to put it to use? Botnets serve many purposes, and they are rarely what we would consider to [...]
If you have a computer connected to a network you should assume you are under attack 24 hours a day. Because you are. The numbers are simply astonishing. I’m sure your head spins when all those network security statistics are thrown around. Unfortunately, despite the awareness the vast majority of security breaches on the Internet [...]
At Level 3, we take the security of our network very seriously. And given our scale that makes for an interesting challenge, to say the least! Level 3 monitors its global backbone and services to identify threats, attacks and malicious traffic. The following is illustrative of a per-country breakdown for certain Command and Control (C2) [...]
To this day, Invasion of the Body Snatchers bothers me, likely because the idea that enemies are not always easily identified and can end up being people you least expect triggers some of my most basic fears. We can debate the merits of its place in cinematic history; however there is no debate that something [...]
Once again there have been a large number of news articles released about another sophisticated cyber attack. On the surface this may seem to just be another attack in a long string of cyber-war battles; however this attack shows why virus-protection, firewalls, and software patches alone will never be enough to defeat the sophisticated tactics [...]
I make it a point to watch and listen to our Presidents when they stand up and describe their vision of the problems and opportunities we have in front of us, the heart of the State of the Union address. Every idea is thoroughly vetted, every word carefully chosen. And so, when President Obama said, [...]
