Dutch DDoS mystery: Who’s behind the sudden massive wave of attacks on banks?

There is as yet no indication of who is behind the massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on Netherlands banks and government websites that ran from last weekend to Tuesday. Initial reports suggesting a Russian connection appear baseless.

The attacks began just a couple of days after media reports stated that Dutch intelligence tipped off their American counterparts about state-sponsored Russian spies hacking the apparatus of the Democratic Party and stealing the infamous “leaked emails” that may have swayed the 2016 election.

“This weekend’s DDoS attacks were heavier than previous ones and lasted longer. At the moment, it is unknown who is behind the attacks, and in by far most cases, the source of an attack is never discovered,” ABN Amro said.

The publication NL Times reported that the Bratislava-based security company ESET had identified the attacks as coming from servers in Russia. That fact would, of course, be less than solid evidence that Russian attackers are to blame, because DDoS attacks can bounce all over the place before finally hitting their target, always making attribution troublesome. But when ZDNet contacted the security firm, it denied ever making a claim about a Russian connection.

The bank ABN Amro became the first victim on Saturday, while Rabobank and ING Bank were hit on Monday, along with the Dutch Taxation Authority. All four were hit again on Tuesday, but this time their defenses reportedly fared better.

Read more about the wave of DDoS attacks targeting Dutch banks on ZDNet.

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