DOJ and FBI Caution about increased DDoS Extortion Assaults

US DOJ (United States Department-of-Justice) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have jointly cautioned businesses about a rising danger of threat actors extorting them through Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) assaults also described as network flood assaults, published ZDNet.com dated August 3, 2015.

IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) that has the FBI as well as other agencies working with it published one online bulletin cautioning that victimized enterprises were getting a threatening e-mail that their websites would be attacked with DDoS assaults if they didn't fulfill a ransom payment.

There are different prices specified for the ransom and they're usually asked to be paid in the crypto-currency Bitcoin, which's least easy to track down.

According to the bulletin, victims who don't make the ransom payment get one follow-up e-mail which threatens to considerably raise the ransom incase they don't make the payment in the specified time-period. A few enterprises said they enforced DDoS mitigation solutions to be precautious. ZDNet.com reported this, August 3, 2015.

All the above government agencies reportedly have directed organizations which feel they may've become a victim of the kind of assault to report their incidences.

It's probable that many businesses within USA and other countries have been recipients of such electronic mails along with the assaults involved, while they likely have tackled the problem in different manners, one of them certainly being making the ransom payment.

Apparently, not very many are expected to become the targets. Hitherto, according to FBI's speculation, many people maybe executing the assault while having different kinds of targets within their purview.

The warning added that given the details got at IC3 it was FBI's understanding that several persons were involved within the extortion attacks. Theinquirer.net published this, August 3, 2015.

Possibly there would be expansion of the attacks over Internet-based industries as well as other targeted segments, particularly sectors vulnerable to undergoing adverse expenses incase taken offline.

Of late, United Kingdom's Home Office described the situation as certain 'bad apples' abusing the Office's goodwill for targeting citizens with just the sort of ransom-related malicious software delivering e-mails. Those messages carried one attachment/web-link that told regarding a forthcoming 'court case.'

» SPAMfighter News - 8/13/2015