XName DNS Attacked by DDoS

DoS attack brings to light potential for widespread DNS impact

October 26, 2006 - XName, one of the largest Domain Name Service (DNS) servers and web hosting providers known for consistently stable service was brought down to its knees by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

During the DDoS attack, all zones that were hosted as primary or secondary on the XName's main DNS server, ns0.xname.org, were automatically replicated on the secondary DNS server, ns1.xname.org. The DDoS attack targeted both ns0 and ns1 IP addresses of the company, leaving all of its clients out of service.

Due to the magnitude of the DDoS attack, the upstream provider had to cut off XName to preserve DNS services to its other clients. The company had never before experienced such a powerful DDoS attack.

To stop the DDoS attack and bring the DNS network back up, the web hosting company added some backup nameservers to the DNS settings. Also, XName negotiated with a premium transit provider to host one of their DNS servers and worked on their own to bring the other DNS server back online. A few days prior to the attack, XName's DNS servers were hosting 50,906 sites. This means that the downtime was a very hard blow for a significant number of people.

The DDoS attack against XName showed the world that large online businesses and DNS security were very vulnerable to cyber criminal activity. In today's environment such powerful attacks could bring down entire networks and hundreds of thousands of Web sites worldwide.

Source: hack in the box

About Secure64 Software Corporation
Secure64® is a software developer providing highly secure DNS and server applications with built-in denial-of-service protection features to help ensure your Internet-dependent business is always accessible. Based on the genuinely secure SourceT® microOS, Secure64 DNS remains highly available during network attacks and is immune to compromise from rootkits and malware.

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