DDoS attacks on Dyn
On October 21, 2016, three consecutive distributed denial-of-service attacks were launched against the Domain Name System (DNS) provider Dyn. The attack caused major Internet platforms and services to be unavailable to large swathes of users in Europe and North America. The groups Anonymous and New World Hackers claimed responsibility for the attack, but scant evidence was provided.
Map of the areas most affected by the attacks, 16:45 UTC, 21 October 2016. | |
| Date | October 21, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Time | 11:10 – 13:20 UTC 15:50 – 17:00 UTC 20:00 – 22:10 UTC |
| Location | Europe and North America, especially the Eastern United States |
| Type | Distributed denial-of-service |
| Participants | Unknown |
| Suspects | New World Hackers, Anonymous (self-claimed) |
As a DNS provider, Dyn provides to end-users the service of mapping an Internet domain name—when, for instance, entered into a web browser—to its corresponding IP address. The distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack was accomplished through numerous DNS lookup requests from tens of millions of IP addresses. The activities are believed to have been executed through a botnet consisting of many Internet-connected devices—such as printers, IP cameras, residential gateways and baby monitors—that had been infected with the Mirai malware.