AOL, Comcast, T-Mobile Users Lead Denial of Service Attacks

Internet "zombie" attacks that attempt to knock computer systems offline are more likely to come from users of America Online than any other source, according to a report released by a security company on Tuesday. AOL and other large Internet service providers serve as launching pads for most "denial of service" attacks, according to Prolexic Technologies, which helps companies fend off such attacks. Other top sources of such attacks include T-Mobile's German-based service; Wanadoo, a French Internet provider; and Comcast Corp.

The report, by Denial of Service (DDoS) software company Prolexic Technologies, shows the major ISPs' customers are the source of the bulk of "zombie" PC clients that do the attacking in DDoS attacks. The top 5 U.S. ISPs on the Prolexic "bad ISP" list are AOL, Comcast, Bellsouth, Verizon and Ameritech. I hope the Baby Bell networks are more securley managed than their customers!

The implications are clear: social and political pressure will be applied on the miscreant ISPs to force their subscribers to practice safe computing. If not, the likely effects of a coordinated DDoS attack on government, military, and commercial/economic interests of the U.S. are nothing short of terrorism. However, recent DDoS attacks are nothing more than extortion against online sites, which should not be condoned either.

-- Peter S. Kastner