Upstream Providers Become Targets
Chase Cunningham, director of cyber operations at A10 networks, expects that upstream providers increasingly will be targets for attackers in the new year. The DDoS attack launched against DNS provider Dyn, which resulted in knocking out many major sites that use Dyn for DNS services, made headlines because it highlighted what can happen when threat actors target a service provider as opposed to the end customers. Attacks on upstream providers, he noted, cause ripple effects that interrupt service—not only for the provider, but also all of their customers and users. The attack on Dyn set a dangerous precedent and likely will be emulated several times over in the coming year, he said.
