Notes on Sabu arrest

This post is just to jot down interest bits of info on the Sabu arrest. All the good stories with details appear in the first few hours, then the Internet fills up with crud, and I can no longer find the original stories via Google.

No, #Anonymous can't DDoS the root DNS servers

This is what you'd see if the DNS blackout were successful

#Anonymous hackers have announced "Operation Global Blackout", promising to cause an Internet-wide blackout by disabling the core DNS servers. DNS is the phonebook of the Internet that translates machine names (like "www.facebook.com") to network addresses (like "66.220.158.25"). If hackers can disable the global DNS name system, then typing in your favorite website into your browser will produce an error.

But the attack is no longer practical. It's such a common idea that Wikipedia has a page devoted to it. For something so obvious, defenders have spent considerable time devising solutions. There are many reasons why such an attack won't cause a global blackout.

@Anonymous's war against the New York Stock Exchange

The hacker collective known as "Anonymous" (sic) has declared war on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), promising to "erase" it from the Internet this October 10th (in support of #OccupyWallStreet). Should we be afraid of this threat?

No. Hackers who can, do. Those who can't, make threats.