Terrorism, Act of War, and Legal Implications

Variations of the DoS attack are likely to be a major component of global terrorism and even a part of government-sponsored acts of aggression against its perceived enemies. The possible devastating that effect a massive distributed attack could have on a country’s command and control systems, financial systems, utility grids (power, telephone, transportation, and soon), and other services is something to remember.

While we hope most of us will never be in a position to directly defend against such an attack, it’s critical that the resources under our control do not become unwitting hosts to any kind of DDoS attack.

Many lawyers became quite computer savvy and versed in the areas of financial responsibility in preparation for the feeding frenzy they expected from the Year 2000 “bugs.” While that threat never materialized, many lawyers are now advising victims of DDoS attacks that the unwitting hosts of the attack bots might have financial liability because of not detecting and eliminating the devices. Security practices that allow these unauthorized residents to do their dirty deeds could carry a hefty price tag.

While the original hacker is careful to conceal their identity and address, they have a whole lot less interest in protecting the bot hosts. If, in fact, lawsuits against remote sites become common, it’s not inconceivable that the bot site might be the ultimate target of an attack.