Cyber Criminals Tying Up Emergency Phone Lines Through TDoS Attacks, DHS Warns 115
tsamsoniw writes "Emergency-service providers and other organizations are being targeted with TDoS (telephony denial of service) attacks, according to a security alert (PDF) from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, obtained by security expert Brian Krebs. TDoS attacks use high volumes of automated calls to tie up target phone systems, halting incoming and outgoing calls. Perpetrators are using the attacks to extort cash from target organizations, who receive a call from a representative from a purported payday loan company, who demands payment of $5,000 for an outstanding debt — usually speaking in an unspecified 'strong accent.'"
Re:Police, Fire Brigade, Truncheon, Axe... (Score:4, Insightful)
The money has to be deposited somewhere, and that somewhere may be traceable.
I understand that is how scam-/spam-gangs are traced.
Re:Police, Fire Brigade, Truncheon, Axe... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Police, Fire Brigade, Truncheon, Axe... (Score:4, Insightful)
Hmmm. Where do I fit into all of this? I run Linux Mint Debian. I've basically turned the firewall off, on the computer and at the router. No antivirus. But, I'm up to date with a rolling distro. Although I have three versions of Java installed, my browsers don't know about them. Flash is installed, and disabled by default. Javascript is disabled by default, but I can select sites on which to run it. In the unlikely event that I am pwned - how liable do you think I should be? Are my precautions adequate?