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wildpackets

Making DDoS prevention a priority

Security and network management vendors Prolexic and Arbor Networks recently reported that distributed-denial-of-service attacks are on the rise. What can we do to make prevention a forethought?

According to Prolexic Chief Technology Officer Paul Sop, the recent trends include a shorter attack duration, but a bigger packet-per-second attack volume. This "bigger packet-per-second attack volume" is likely going to be generated by a DDoS (distributed denial of system), which is a coordinated attack from lots of dispersed nodes usually with a few central controllers.

A recent high-profile example was the hacker group "Anonymous" allegedly using the LOIC … Read more

Denial-of-service got Twitter. Is your network next?

On Thursday, Twitter was taken down by a denial-of-service attack, while Facebook suffered related problems. And other social/media sites like Gawker and Live Journal were hampered by attacks as well. These attacks illustrate just how crucial network security is in a world where organized cyberattacks can bring down even the most prominent sites.

While the news cycle is quickly headed to the point of diminishing returns (lots of ruminations on DDoS, where the attacks originated, and how it was done), I've yet to see posts on how such attacks can be prevented.

In light of Twitter's susceptibility, … Read more

Safeguarding your wireless network

It seems like every few months I have to set up a wireless network for someone. And while it's certainly an easy task I am fairly sure that the security choices people make in the process are probably not the most iron-clad.

Whether by design or by default, every company and, now, most homes have a wireless network. Unless you understand, control, and manage this network, you are creating vulnerabilities that threaten network security. As more and more companies begin using wireless as a primary medium for data services, including VoIP and video, preventive measures should be taken to … Read more