DVRs Infected With Malware Part of Devices That Caused Friday's Internet Outage

Devices like DVRs and routers that were infected with a malware are at least somewhat responsible for Friday's cyber attack that took down major websites like Twitter, Spotify, Amazon and PayPal, according to the security intelligence company Flashpoint.

The company said it had confirmed that botnets compromised by Mirai malware were part of the infrastructure responsible for the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Dyn's DNS network. The malware targets devices like DVRs, routers, webcams and security cameras — also known as the "Internet of Things" or IoT— enslaving them into a botnet that is used to conduct DDoS attacks. The security company said it had confirmed that at least some of the devices used in the attack were DVRs.

Mirai botnets have previously been used in DDoS attacks. According to the Department of Homeland Security, in the context of botnets, bots refer to computers that are controlled by one or many outside sources. Attackers gain access to the computers by infecting them with malware and use botnets to conduct a range of activities, including DDoS attacks. Put simply, a DDoS attack is when an attacker floods a network with information, preventing it from processing a request since it can only process a certain number of requests at once. The DNS provider Dyn converts domain names or URLs that are readable by the internet.

The DHS warns that your computer may be part of a botnet even though it appears to be operating normally.

According to Engadget, the author of the Mirai malware made its code open-source, prompting experts to warn of a new wave of IoT botnet-based DDoS attacks. The series of attacks on Friday forced engineers at Dyn to spend most of the day investigating and mitigating the attacks.

Dyn’s chief strategy officer Kyle York told reporters on Friday it was a very smart attack. "As we mitigate, they attack," York said.

While there is no effective way to prevent being part of an attack, there are active steps one can take to reduce the likelihood.

Image via Shutterstock