Case Studies

SOCA offline

by msecadm4921

The UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has confirmed that its website has suffered a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, effectively preventing internet users from reaching it.  This is the second time in less than a year that SOCA’s website has found itself the target of malicious attackers, having previously suffered from a DDoS attack at the hands of the notorious LulzSec gang in June 2011.

 

A SOCA spokesperson confirmed that the website was taken offline at about 10pm on Wednesday, but that there was no security risk for the organisation.

 

Graham Cluley, senior security consultant at Sophos, said: “SOCA is right to highlight that there is no security risk posed by the DDoS attack, but we still have to remember that such an assault is illegal.  DDoS attacks can cause huge disruption to organisations and their visitors, and can be used to make political points, prevent firms from doing business and even blackmail targeted websites.

 

 “Although it’s natural to assume that hacktivists such as Anonymous and LulzSec might be responsible, it’s equally possible that other cybercriminals are to blame.  For instance, the UK police recently shut down 36 illegal websites selling stolen credit card details.  Whoever is to blame – they may have chosen their victim unwisely, as a DDoS attack can land the perpetrators in jail for up to ten years.”

 

More information can be found on the Sophos Naked Security website: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/05/03/soca-website-ddos/ 

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