A sustained week-long attack on Spamhaus is underway in what’s been called “the biggest attack in history”. How big? It’s said to be slowing down the Internet globally.
This particular DDoS — as distinct from any other — appears to originate around a spat between Dutch web host Cyberbunker and anti-spam group Spamhaus. Spamhaus blacklisted Cyberbunker, a host that will (as per the BBC report) host “anything with the exception of child pornography or terrorism-related material” — which would logically make them a safe harbour for spammers. A claimed spokesperson for Cyberbunker is quoted as stating that Spamhaus should not be allowed to say “what goes and does not go on the internet”.
Then the DDoS attacks came. Nobody from Cyberbunker has gone on the record as saying they’re behind them — although that’s Spamhaus’ position, stating that they’ve had peak attacks at 300gb/s.
Or in other words, ouch. The attacks are said to be having knock-on effects on other services, so if your net is slow today, make sure you have an extra grumble about spammers… and then, I guess, break out the Monopoly board.
[BBC]
Image Credit: noii flickr