What Happened to AP's Website?
Imagine if a website you visit often suddenly had a problem. That's what happened to the Associated Press (AP) news website recently. It looked like it was under attack by something called a "denial-of-service attack."
What's a Denial-of-Service Attack?
A denial-of-service attack is like trying to squeeze too many people into an elevator, making it stop working. In this case, a cyber attacker sent so much data to the AP website that it couldn't handle it all and had to go offline.
Website Glitches
Starting on a Tuesday afternoon, people trying to visit apnews.com noticed some issues. While the homepage loaded, the links to individual news stories weren't working right. Some pages didn't show anything, and others displayed error messages. Luckily, the problem was fixed by Wednesday morning.
Don't Worry about AP's Apps
Here's the good news: even though the website had problems, AP's mobile apps and delivery systems kept running as usual. So, if you were using their apps, you wouldn't have noticed anything wrong.
Investigating the Issue
Nicole Meir, who works at AP, said they've been having moments where lots of people try to visit their website, but they're still trying to figure out why. It's like trying to find out why a road gets so jammed with traffic.
Anonymous Sudan and the Claimed Attack
On the same Tuesday morning, a group called Anonymous Sudan said on their messaging channel that they were going to attack Western news websites. Later, they showed screenshots to prove they had attacked the AP and other news sites using something called a "Distributed Denial of Service" or DDoS attack.
How These Attacks Work
An expert, Alexander Leslie, explained that the people behind these attacks do something like a prank. They cause a temporary problem, take pictures to prove it, and then say it was a big success, even if it only affects a small number of people for a short time.
No Official Confirmation
One important thing to remember is that AP hasn't officially confirmed whether Anonymous Sudan was really behind the problem. It's like when you hear a rumor, but you're not sure if it's true. By WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters)
Internet companies Google, Amazon and Cloudflare say they have weathered the internet's largest-known denial of service attack and are sounding the alarm over a new technique they warn could easily cause widespread disruption.
Sourse securityweek.com | Associated Press