[ad_1]
The main website of New Zealand stock exchange operator NZX collapsed on Tuesday after a week of sustained cyber attacks.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks launched from overseas last week impacted NZX’s ability to deliver market announcements and as a result had to stop trading.
By Monday, after receiving support from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the Financial Markets Authority, and Nasdaq-listed Akamai Technologies, NZX had a contingency plan in place that allowed trading to continue. despite suffering another attack.
Tuesday had gone well for NZX with the start of trading at the normal time of 10am. M .; However, around 1 p.m. M., The website was down. It has been restored at 1:45 p.m.
READ MORE:
* NZX may only be to blame for cyberattacks
* The government spy agency has no ‘clues’ about the origin of cyberattacks in NZX
* NZX closes early after website goes down for the third day in a row
Lech Janczewski, Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management at the University of Auckland, said DDoS attacks were one of the most powerful weapons on the internet.
They attacked websites and online services with more traffic than they could accommodate, resulting in a site crash, he said.
John Anthony / Stuff
NZX’s main website was blocked Tuesday afternoon.
The attacker chose a type of DDoS attack and then found or developed the necessary software, he said.
They install that software on unprotected “zombie computers”, essentially forming a network of computers called a “botnet.”
The number of computers in a botnet can exceed 100,000, he said.
“At a certain moment or signal, all the zombies start sending messages to the attacked site, causing it to be blocked.”
DDoS attack software is constantly evolving and attack vectors are getting more and more complicated, he said.
Instead of developing new DDoS attack software, a cybercriminal can buy one using Bitcoin on the dark web, he said.
In a blog post on August 17, Akamai Technologies said that attackers calling themselves the Fancy Bear and Armada Collective were targeting the banking, financial and retail sectors and demanding that a ransom be paid in Bitcoin.
NZX CEO Mark Peterson said Monday morning that he had been informed by independent cyber specialists that the attacks were among the largest, most resourceful and sophisticated they had seen in New Zealand.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Foreign cybercriminals have been disrupting NZX since Tuesday of last week.
Media companies and banks have also been targeted by attacks similar to those that hit NZX.
GCSB Minister Andrew Little said the GCSB was investigating the attacks and the government was working with its Five Eyes partners.
Rizwan Asghar, from the University of Auckland School of Informatics, said New Zealand should learn a lesson from the attacks on NZX and take cybersecurity strategies more seriously.
“We must take a proactive approach to mitigating cyberattacks rather than following a reactive one, including paying any ransom, which is strongly discouraged,” Asghar said.
“Otherwise, determined cybercriminals can attack any critical infrastructure that could result in financial and reputational losses.”
