How much does a DDoS attack cost?
Security researchers have discovered that DDoS attacks are now available to purchase on the Internet for as little as $5 an hour.
The researchers, who work for the security firm Imperva, were able to find distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) for as low as $5 an hour on the online professional services marketplace Fiverr. A year ago these same services cost $38 an hour and could only be found on the dark web.
The providers of these DDoS attacks are offering them as a way for companies to test the strength of their own web servers in order to help them better prepare for an attack by cybercriminals. However, when Imperva’s researchers questioned the providers in regard to buyers having to personally own the servers that the attacks would target, one of them responded that he would be willing to attack any server as long as it did not power a government website or a hospital.
The Senior Manager at Imperva, Igal Zeifman commented on the answer his company’s security researchers received saying that: "This just goes to show that even DDoSers have some moral compass, as well as a healthy fear of the government".
Imperva alerted Fiverr that DDoS attacks that tested more than company servers were being sold on its site and in two days, three of the providers were removed. The researchers have also reached out to the public and are requesting that anyone who spots an advertisement for an illegitimate DDoS-for hire service reports it to the authorities.
Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Photo credit: sibgat / Shutterstock