Understanding DoS 261
Typical victims of DoS attacks range from government-owned resources to online ven-
dors and others, and the intent of the attack is usually the deciding factor in terms of which
target will be engaged. Consider a few simple examples to give you an idea of the impact of
a successful DoS attack. From a corporate perspective, the focus is always on the bottom
line. A successful DoS attack against a corporation’s web page or availability of back-end
resources could easily result in a loss of millions of dollars in revenue depending on com-
pany size. Also, consider the negative impact to the brand name and company reputation.
As you can see, the impact of a single DoS attack with specific directed intent can prove
extremely damaging to the victim on many different levels.
Another theme that pervades DoS attacks, as well as other attack forms, is hackers who
take action against a target based on “principle” or a sense of personal mission, which is
known as hacktivism. Hacktivists are a particularly concerning threat because their focus
is not necessarily on personal gain or recognition; their success is measured by how much
their malicious actions benefit their cause. This thought process ties in nicely with DoS
attacks in that the message being “sent” can be left up to interpretation or, more com-
monly, be claimed by a group or individual.
WikiLeaks
When notorious hacker and activist Julian Assange released confidential information
from the U.S. Government through his website WikiLeaks, the response was deafening.
While the information proved embarrassing to the United States, there were other reper-
cussions.
As a result of the leak, several financial institutions such as Mastercard, Visa, and
PayPal stopped taking donations for WikiLeaks. In response to this closing of accounts and
hindrance of the flow of money to the organization, several of these and other financial
services had their websites targeted by DoS attacks. Customers and the companies them-
selves were unable to access their own websites and were crushed by the flow of traffic.
Ultimately the companies were not only able to turn back the tide on these attacks, but
harden themselves as well a statement had been made. Hackers had shown that with
some cooperation and a little planning they could quickly organize an attack and take
down a substantial target.
DoS attacks have also become extremely popular with cybercriminals and organized
crime groups. These groups have organized themselves into complex hierarchies and struc-
tures designed to coordinate and magnify the effects of the attack. Additionally the groups