• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
TechCybersecurity

Here’s One Strategy for Thwarting Denial of Service Cyberattacks

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 24, 2016, 8:51 AM ET

Companies can reduce the risk from the type of cyberattack that took out major websites on Friday by using multiple vendors for the critical Internet service known as a domain name service, or DNS, companies and security experts said on Sunday.

“We have advocated for years for redundancy in your infrastructure,” said Kyle York, chief strategy officer for Dyn, the New Hampshire DNS provider that was attacked on Friday. “I don’t think you can ever be safe enough or redundant enough.”

Hackers unleashed a complex attack on the Internet through common devices like webcams and digital recorders and cut access to some of the world’s best-known websites on Friday, a stunning breach of global Internet stability.

York said clients who used multiple servers “saw less of an impact.”

Using multiple DNS providers can, however, make managing traffic more complicated and costly, experts said.

Friday’s cyberattack alarmed security experts because it represented a new type of threat rooted in the proliferation of simple digital devices such as webcams. Such devices often lack proper security, and hackers found a way to harness millions of them to flood a target with so much traffic that it can’t cope.

The attack on Dyn and the resulting outage started in the Eastern United States on Friday and then spread to other parts of the country and Europe, affecting companies including Twitter and Paypal. DNS providers such as Dyn act as a switchboard for Internet traffic.

“It’s important to implement diversity geographically, as well as architecturally,” for a defense against domain name service attacks, said Andy Ellis, chief security officer at Akamai Technologies, which helped Dyn recover on Friday.

Businesses can choose up to eight authoritative domain service providers, and some of the hardest-hit sites were customers who only picked Dyn.

Eliminating the threat from the unsecured devices that make up what’s often called the Internet of things will be a much tougher task, however. Many inexpensive webcams, connected thermostats, baby monitors and other products lack even basic security and sometimes use hard-coded passwords that are simple to break, security experts said.

Law enforcement authorities said on Friday they are investigating the attack. The tools making the new type of attack possible were released on the Internet by unknown hackers last month, thus creating a long list of possible suspects.

“This is the new norm, the Internet wasn’t designed with these kinds of attacks in mind,” said cyber security expert and entrepreneur Barrett Lyon.

Long-term solutions would likely require governments to take far more responsibility for mandating Internet security, experts agreed.

Chinese electronics component manufacturer Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology said Sunday that weak default passwords on its products inadvertently played a role in the cyber attack, according to a report from IDG News Service.

The company said it has patched the flaws and now is asking customers to change the default password the first time they use it.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

SpaceX’s next-gen rocket is the key to its sky-high valuation, early investor says: ‘Starship also enables all kinds of frontier markets’
Startups & VentureElon Musk
SpaceX’s next-gen rocket is the key to its sky-high valuation, early investor says: ‘Starship also enables all kinds of frontier markets’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 24, 2026
15 hours ago
Dara Khosrowshahi speaks on stage and holds his palms in front of him, pressed together.
LifestyleUber Technologies
Uber CEO says rideshare ‘freed up’ his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he’s one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
By Sasha RogelbergMay 24, 2026
16 hours ago
bofa
AIProductivity
BofA says you’ll be 10x more productive with AI. Ignore the 0.1% result so far
By Nick LichtenbergMay 24, 2026
16 hours ago
Inside the ‘stealth wealth’ playbook: How Silicon Valley’s elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
Real EstateLuxury
Inside the ‘stealth wealth’ playbook: How Silicon Valley’s elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
By Sydney LakeMay 24, 2026
17 hours ago
David Bennahum
CommentaryMedia
I was one of the internet’s first influencers. AI just killed the whole category — and created something better
By David S. BennahumMay 24, 2026
18 hours ago
Someone leafs through titles stacked in a library
AIResearch
AI hallucinations are infiltrating expert work—and entering the permanent body of knowledge
By Tristan BoveMay 24, 2026
19 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
4 days ago
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
Lifestyle
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
By Sasha RogelbergMay 24, 2026
16 hours ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
2 days ago
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
Real Estate
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
By Sydney LakeMay 24, 2026
17 hours ago
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
Success
Apple’s Steve Wozniak says he cofounded the tech giant after 5 rejections from HP—not to ‘make money.’ For years, his paycheck was just $50
By Preston ForeMay 22, 2026
3 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
5 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.