Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS One of the things that amazes me the most is how the general population lacks a firm understanding of the cyber threats they face daily. Since few people outside of security circles have actually been trained in cyber security, the general lack of knowledge pertaining to cyber-attacks […]

Track: General Security Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS In my travels around the globe, I am often asked what strides an organization should take in order to measurably reduce their exposure to cyber threat actors, and their relentless cyber-attacks. Deploying the right security technologies obviously makes good sense. However, no matter how much […]

Track: General Security

Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS

According to reports, the famous hacker collective known around the world as Anonymous is back at it again.  Icarus is the name of their latest operation, which began in the first few days of May.

When I first heard about the latest name for their operation, I remembered Icarus from my mythology class, senior year of high school. Although I remembered the name, I could not recollect the story about Icarus. Thank goodness for the Internet.  (more…)

Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS

In an earlier blog post I described some of the threat actors and the motivations that often fuel DDoS attacks.

Continuing with this theme, another prominent motivation reared its ugly head in the late 2000s.  Cyber hacktivism, as it is called today, is still one of the most observed motivations for DDoS attacks.  People who claim to have a substantiated reason for launching attacks, based upon their personal, social, moral, or political agenda, launch attacks daily against a host of helpless victims.  The reasons behind the attacks can be based on just about anything that someone doesn’t like.  One recent example was an attack on Nissan from a group protesting Japan’s stance and policies with respect to Marine life. (more…)

Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS

Most people know that launching a DDoS attack is illegal in just about every country in the world. However, breaking the law or the penalties that go along with it, have not slowed the growth or frequency of DDoS attacks.  Most companies who track DDoS attacks globally, all report the problem is growing, day-by-day. Just about every organization connected to the Internet is concerned about this cyber attack vector, and the motivations for these attacks vary widely.  (more…)

Track:  Technical

Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS

In the world of getting from one place to another, people face a common dilemma.  What transportation will get them to their destination quickly, safely, and affordable? While nearly everyone would enjoy cruising around in a luxury car, most people are just looking for the best option to get the job done.  Something that is reliable, efficient, easy to operate, and affordable. No one likes paying too much. Interestingly enough, a parallel can be drawn in the context of DDoS defenses and the solutions NSFOCUS provides to the cyber-security community. (more…)

Track:  Technical

Author: Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst, NSFOCUS

In my last blog, I wrote about traveling to Las Vegas to attend the NSFOCUS International Business Division (IBD), 2016 Sales Kickoff.  The event was a complete success and I had an opportunity to spend four days with some of the smartest and most successful individuals in our industry.   People from all over the world attended, and I have never seen such a mix of nationalities and cultures represented in our meetings and dinners.  During the event, I witnessed the most kindhearted act of my career. (more…)