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The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has teamed up with international law enforcement authorities to crack down on Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
Under an international law enforcement partnership with 12 other counties under the coordination of Europol, the AFP has conducted operational activity to target individuals who are suspected of initiating DDoS attacks on computer systems.
A DDoS attack is defined as a malicious attempt to render a computing service unavailable, usually by overwhelming it with large numbers of requests and overloading the servers. Such an attack results in crowding out legitimate users who are then unable to access the service.
This kind of computer attack fell under the public spotlight in August 2016 when it was reported that the eCensus, which was being conducted at the time, was the subject of four attacks in one day, which disrupted the service and prevented users from logging on.
This attack became a scandal for the federal government, who shifted blame on IBM, which was delegated the responsibility of ensuring that the IT infrastructure that houses the data was safe and secure.
Regarding the latest blitz by the AFP, authorities conducted search warrants in both Sydney and Perth on two unrelated suspects who are believed to be responsible for over 120 DDoS attacks against a “variety of victims”.
According to the AFP, in both instances briefs of evidence are being prepared for the courts and charges are yet to be finalised.
AFP Manager Cyber Crime Operations, Commander David McLean said that these are serious offences.
“DDoS activity is an offence that carries a penalty up to 10 years imprisonment,” Commander McClean said.
He said DDoS attacks against Australian businesses and government sites continue to increase and represent one of the most underreported, but significant cybercrime threats.
“Attacks of this nature cause significant damage to those business targeted with real world impacts,” Commander McLean said.
He warned that “if you are interested in technology and do like to experiment I would ask that you consider the damage you could cause and the criminality of your actions before proceeding”.
He added that the “outcomes of your actions aren’t virtual”.
