WikiLeaks DDoS Attack Insights And Government Response to Security Risks

The British national security adviser, Sir Peter Ricketts, has advised all government departments to review their computer security in light of the recent WikiLeaks attacks. WikiLeaks came under intense pressure in December 2010 to stop publishing secret United States diplomatic cables. A range of organisations, from banks, financial services and retailers through to government agencies, either stopped working with or froze donations to WikiLeaks, apparently bowing to political pressure.

In response, members of the Anonymous group (people behind Operation Payback[1]) made available a relatively simple-to-use tool to quickly direct a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack against any company that was perceived to be conspiring against WikiLeaks. Most of the targeted sites experienced major service disruptions resulting in multi-hour business outages.

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