Possibility of DDoS attack on StarHub broadband service cannot be ruled out: IMDA

Possibility of DDoS attack on StarHub broadband service cannot be ruled out: IMDA
Posted 25 Oct 2016 18:09 Updated 25 Oct 2016 22:21

SINGAPORE: Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in the two outages that telco StarHub's broadband service saw in the space of two days.

In a joint statement to the media on Tuesday (Oct 25), the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said: "We have been paying close attention to developments as it happened on the heels of Friday’s attack against the US-based domain name system service provider, Dyn. We cannot rule out the possibility that this was a DDoS attack."

Earlier on Tuesday, StarHub said Monday's outage came after it detected a "spike in data traffic" coming into its domain name servers. The telco said it is currently investigating the root cause, including whether the spike in traffic was malicious in intent.

"What is important now is for StarHub to determine the root cause of the problem and prevent a recurrence," said IMDA and CSA in their joint statement.

"IMDA is working closely with StarHub to investigate the matter and strengthen its infrastructure and processes.

OTHER TELCOS ADVISED TO STEP UP DEFENCES

In the statement, IMDA said it also advised the other telcos to step up their defences in case there are similar disruptions to their systems.

Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia's, Singtel said it has measures in place to safeguard its network.

“We did not observe any abnormal traffic trends over the past weekend, but will continue to monitor our networks closely. We have a robust monitoring system and resilient protection mechanisms in place to safeguard our networks,” a spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.

M1 said it is "aware of the recent cyber-attacks and is on alert".

"We have made significant investments to defend our systems against cyber-attacks, including DDoS attacks," said Mr Chua Hian Hou, assistant general manager of corporate communications at M1.

In the joint statement, CSA added that it is "studying and addressing the risks of DDoS attacks on our communications systems, as well as the measures to mitigate the impact of such attacks if they happen."

CSA added that it would also reach out to educate the public and businesses on the need to properly secure their systems.

- CNA/dt

- wong chee tat :)