An introduction to JavaScript-based DDoS
CloudFlare protects millions of websites from online threats. One of the oldest and most pervasive attacks launched against websites is the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. In a typical DDoS attack, an attacker causes a large number of computers to send data to a server, overwhelming its capacity and preventing legitimate users from accessing it.
In recent years, DDoS techniques have become more diversified: attackers are tricking unsuspecting computers into participating in attacks in new and interesting ways. Last year, we saw what was likely the largest attack in history (>400Gbps) performed using NTP reflection. In this attack, the unsuspecting participants were misconfigured NTP servers worldwide. This year, we’re seeing a disturbing new trend: attackers are using malicious JavaScript to trick unsuspecting web users into participating in DDoS attacks.
The total damage that can be caused by a NTP or DNS reflection attack is limited by the number of vulnerable servers. Over time, this number decreases as networks patch their servers, and the maximum size of the attack is capped at the outbound capacity of all the vulnerable servers. For JavaScript-based DDoS, any computer with a browser can be enrolled in the attack, making the potential attack volume nearly Continue reading