2002 DNS Backbone DDoS
Encyclopedia
Distributed denial of service attacks on root nameservers are Internet
events in which distributed denial-of-service attack
s target one or more of the thirteen Domain Name System
root nameserver
s. The root nameservers are critical infrastructure
components of the Internet, mapping domain name
s to Internet Protocol
(IP) going to and other information. Attacks against the root nameservers can impact operation of the entire Internet, rather than specific websites.
This event was the first significant attack directed at disabling the Internet itself instead of specific websites. This was the second significant failure of the root nameservers. The first caused the failure of seven machines in April 1997 due to a technical problem.
addressing. ICANN
published a formal analysis shortly after the event.
Due to a lack of detail, speculation about the incident proliferated in the press until details were released.
On February 8, 2007 it was announced by Network World that: "If the United States found itself under a major cyberattack aimed at undermining the nation's critical information infrastructure, the Department of Defense is prepared, based on the authority of the President, to launch [...] an actual bombing of an attack source or a cyber counterattack."
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
events in which distributed denial-of-service attack
Denial-of-service attack
A denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...
s target one or more of the thirteen Domain Name System
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
root nameserver
Root nameserver
A root name server is a name server for the Domain Name System's root zone. It directly answers requests for records in the root zone and answers other requests returning a list of the designated authoritative name servers for the appropriate top-level domain...
s. The root nameservers are critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure is a term used by governments to describe assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy. Most commonly associated with the term are facilities for:*electricity generation, transmission and distribution;...
components of the Internet, mapping domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
s to Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
(IP) going to and other information. Attacks against the root nameservers can impact operation of the entire Internet, rather than specific websites.
October 21, 2002
On October 21, 2002 an attack lasting for approximately one hour was targeted at all 13 DNS root name servers.This event was the first significant attack directed at disabling the Internet itself instead of specific websites. This was the second significant failure of the root nameservers. The first caused the failure of seven machines in April 1997 due to a technical problem.
February 6, 2007
On February 6, 2007 an attack began at 10 AM and lasted twenty-four hours. At least two of the root servers (G-ROOT and L-ROOT) reportedly suffered badly while two others (F-ROOT and M-ROOT) experienced heavy traffic. The latter largely contained the damage by distributing requests to other root server instances with anycastAnycast
Anycast is a network addressing and routing methodology in which datagrams from a single sender are routed to the topologically nearest node in a group of potential receivers all identified by the same destination address.-Addressing methodologies:...
addressing. ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
published a formal analysis shortly after the event.
Due to a lack of detail, speculation about the incident proliferated in the press until details were released.
On February 8, 2007 it was announced by Network World that: "If the United States found itself under a major cyberattack aimed at undermining the nation's critical information infrastructure, the Department of Defense is prepared, based on the authority of the President, to launch [...] an actual bombing of an attack source or a cyber counterattack."