Internet Root Servers Assailed by Hackers

February 8th, 2007: Hackers have launched the largest and longest attack since 2002 against servers that manage the flow of internet traffic.

Lasting 12 hours earlier this week, the attack managed to take down three of the 13 computers that manage global traffic for a short period of time by flooding them with overwhelming amounts of data.

"There was what appears to be some form of attack during the night hours here in California and into the morning," said John Crain, chief technical officer for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers according to newsfactor.com. "I don't think anybody has the full picture. We're looking at the data."

With no demands or message accompanying it, it is currently unclear why the attack has taken place, however, large amounts of the data appear to have originated in South Korea.

Duane Wessels, a researcher at the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis told newsfactor.com that due to the lack of a motive the attack could have been orchestrated "to show off or just be disruptive; it doesn't seem to be extortion or anything like that."

The report claims that root servers belonging to the US Defence Department and the Internet's primary oversight body were among those targeted.

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