The Impact of DDoS on Unrelated Targets
By Wagahai
It could be surmised that people who launch DDOS attacks know their
intended target and can find enough bandwidth to bring the target down.
The problem that most don't seem to think about are the related networks
which also get hit. The small ISP which has an infected customer who
suddenly starts using all available bandwidth, the nationwide latency
created on some networks due to the amount of packets or the small
businesses that have servers on a network near the intended target.
A good example would be my own involvement. I feel that DALnet is an
organization that is worth contributing hosting to, however it does not
mean that I agree 100% with every decision it makes. Those who choose to
attack DALnet in this manner rarely consider that those of us who
provide hosting may actually agree with them. Instead we get attacked.
In my case, when I go offline due to an attack, it takes my e-mail
offline, my family's mail offline (about 4 family members), various
friends I host and even completely unrelated organizations such as the San
Diego Women's Choir all go offline. Unfortunately it seems most of the
people who use DDOS to express their disagreements with DALnet also hit
innocent sites. So far this has not interfered with my job, learning of
family emergencies or other such things, however the chance is there.
Another example of innocent targets being hit are when ISPs experience
nationwide latency and regional outages due to these attacks. Are the
attacks that I receive that have caused such major outages attacks on me,
or the entire US? ..and should all of the ISP's Southern California
customers be taken offline just because of someone's disagreement with
DALnet? No.
Of course, the other obvious people who are affected by the attacks are
the others using the service - in the case of DALnet, the other people
trying to chat. It's easy to say "use another network", however if you
can't get online to tell people where to meet, it does no good. Friends,
relatives and people just looking for advice all get hurt by the attacks
on the network.
There are other chat networks, other people to chat with, other ways to
communicate. In this day and age there is no reason that someone should
have such hatred for a single entity to inconvenience many other people
just to prove a point or express disagreement. Even if you feel you were
right and the organization was wrong on something, go somewhere else, take
your group of friends with you and write a letter explaining why you left.
If things are really that unfair, others will follow.
NB: Views expressed here are not necessarily those of DALnet
©Aaron Schultz 2002
