Belgium is currently at risk as a massive DDoS attack is targeting various websites of more than 200 organizations across the country, includeing the Belgium government, parliament, research institutes, and universities.
A participant sits with a laptop computer as he attends the annual Chaos Communication Congress of the Chaos Computer Club at the Berlin Congress Center on December 28, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The Chaos Computer Club is Europe's biggest network of computer hackers and its annual congress draws up to 3,000 participants.
Because of this, security experts say that the malicious act is now hard to neutralize. This massive attack started at exactly 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4.
Security experts said that the latest DDoS attack's traffic has overwhelmed the websites. This made the public-facing pages unusable for the visitors.
On the other hand, experts said that the actual attack disconnected the Belgian websites from the internet.
Aside from this, the new DDoS activity also attacked Belnet, which is the Belgian's government-funded ISP provider for educational institutions, scientific institutes, research centers, and government services.
How Serious is This DDoS Attack?
Belnet said in an update that the DDoS attack is still active and sending waves of malicious activities.
"Our teams are working hard to mitigate them. We are constantly monitoring our network to counter any new attempts," added the ISP provider, via The Brussels Times.
Participant hold their laptops in front of an illuminated wall at the annual Chaos Computer Club (CCC) computer hackers' congress, called 29C3, on December 28, 2012 in Hamburg, Germany. The 29th Chaos Communication Congress (29C3) attracts hundreds of participants worldwide annually to engage in workshops and lectures discussing the role of technology in society and its future.
Meanwhile, security experts confirmed that this malicious attack focuses on websites with ".be" domains. Some of these websites are still down, specifically the official website for the City of Brussels.
On the other hand, researchers confirmed that Brussels police's page, Antwerp, and other websites are now functioning properly since Wednesday, May 5.
However, security experts said that they are finding difficulty when it comes to stopping the current DDoS attack.
"The fact that the perpetrators of the attack constantly changed tactics made it even more difficult to neutralize it," said Belnet's Technical Director Dirk Haex.
Has Belnet Recovered From the DDoS Attack?
According to ZDNet's latest report, Belnet confirmed that its internal system and services are now functioning properly. However, the ISP provider still remains vigilant regarding the possible follow-up attacks.
Haex said that they are fully aware of the DDoS attack's impact on the organizations connected to Belnet's network and their users. He added that they know how this malicious activity effectively disrupted their system's functioning.
For more news updates about this DDoS attack and other malicious activities, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
