Online gambling operators should be aware of a new variety of DDoS-distributed attacks that have recently hit websites around the world.
This week, Google’s technology giant had to deplete some 300 Android applications from the Google Play online market after scientists discovered hidden malware that allowed a new botnet called WireX to order 70k mobile phones in more than 100 countries to bombard sites with data.
The applications in question were bright products that featured ringtones, media players and the like, and were programmed to run in the background, allowing WireX botnet organizers to use infected devices even when unwanted applications were not being used.
In some cases, the people behind WireX contacted the sites selected for redemption before they unleashed those who did not pay. The attacks began slowly in early August, rising dramatically in the middle of the month, after which researchers began to notice the source of the attacks.
Google’s official statement, after disclosures, said the company “removed [offensive applications] from all affected devices.”
Online miserable people are becoming more and more creative in their efforts to build bigger botnets. Last fall, a new botnet called Miral hijacked hundreds of thousands of Internet devices from unprotected objects to trigger DDoS attacks on an unprecedented scale.
Online betting sites, especially sports bookmakers based on calendar-centered events, are often the main targets of DDoS attacks. In November last year, William Hill’s British betting site was hit off-line for days after an attack believed to be related to the Miral botnet.
Without seeking humor in the misfortune of another person, Hills is struggling to regain his online presence, fired glasses from some Costa Rican operators who, with their history of catering to the US sports betting market, were the main objectives DDoS since the phenomenon began, and thus obtained a high degree of security to avoid these attacks.