NIPC Advisory 01-021, "Potential DDoS Attacks"

["VanMeter, John" <John.VanMeter () ost dot gov>]

National Infrastructure Protection Center 
"Potential Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks" 
Advisory 01-021 
17 September 2001

The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) expects an increase in
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.  NIPC Advisory 01-020,
"Increased Cyber Awareness" dated September 14, 2001 warned of threatened
vigilante hacking activity against organizations associated with the
perceived perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. 
On September 12, 2001, a group of hackers named the Dispatchers claimed they
had already begun network operations against information infrastructure
components such as routers.  The Dispatchers stated they were targeting the
communications and finance infrastructures.  They also predicted that they
would be prepared for increased operations on or about Tuesday, September
18, 2001. 
There is the opportunity for significant collateral damage to any computer
network and telecommunications infrastructure that does not have current
countermeasures in place.  The Dispatchers claim to have over 1,000 machines
under their control for the attacks.  It is likely that the attackers will
mask their operations by using the IP addresses and pirated systems of
uninvolved third parties. 
System administrators are encouraged to check their systems for zombie agent
software and ensure they institute best practices such as ingress and egress
filtering.  The NIPC has made available the "Find DDoS" tool to determine if
your computer has been infected by the most common DDoS agents.  The tool
may be downloaded from the following website: 
http://www.nipc.gov/warnings/advisories/2000/00-055.htm. 
Additionally, a list of best practices is available from the CERT/CC
website, located at: 
http://www.cert.org/security-improvement. 
Recipients of this advisory are encouraged to report computer intrusions to
their local FBI office 
(http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm) or the NIPC, and to the other
appropriate authorities.  Incidents may be reported online at
http://www.nipc.gov/incident/cirr.htm.   The .NIPC Watch and Warning Unit
can be reached at (202) 323-3204/3205/3206 or nipc.watch () fbi gov. 
  
  
  

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