Schneier: “Someone Is Learning How to Take down the Internet”

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Schneier: “Someone Is Learning How to Take down the Internet”

By CircleID Reporter
September 14, 2016, 6:10 pm PDT Views: 4,975 Add Comment

“Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet,” wrote renowned security expert, Bruce Schneier, in a piece published in Lawfare: “These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don’t know who is doing this, but it feels like a large nation state. China and Russia would be my first guesses.”

— The attacks are larger, last longer and more sophisticated: “And they look like probing. One week, the attack would start at a particular level of attack and slowly ramp up before stopping. The next week, it would start at that higher point and continue.”

— Companies forced to reveal their defense capabilities: “These companies are seeing more attacks using three or four different vectors. This means that the companies have to use everything they’ve got to defend themselves. They can’t hold anything back. They’re forced to demonstrate their defense capabilities for the attacker.”

By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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