Press Releases

Online Gaming Sites Turn to Top Layer Networks for Intrusion Prevention

Westboro, MA, January 29, 2004 -

Top Layer Networks, Inc., a provider of globally proven intrusion prevention solutions, today announced that its Attack Mitigator IPS family of products has been deployed to protect a number of online gaming sites during the Super Bowl. There has been a disturbing rise in denial-of-service (DoS) extortion attacks against online betting sites, most recently against an online wagering site headquartered in Central America that handled thousands of sports-related wagers daily. With the premiere wagering event – the NFL Super Bowl – less than a month away, the online gaming industry is preparing for a further rise in these DoS attacks and associated extortion threats.

For the most part, a typical user of online wagering sites has little loyalty since equity is not built at any particular site. For this reason, providing rapid response, quick payout, and very good service is essential if gaming sites are to ensure retention of their customers. Highly organized criminal blackmailers are now targeting these gaming sites with aggressive DoS attacks and are also demonstrating a disturbing familiarity with the gaming business itself.

“Online gaming sites have realized a significant increase in extortion threats using DoS techniques because they have a unique combination x a dependence on Internet connectivity to conduct business and customers who are generally not reluctant to walk away,” said Paul Lawrence, general manager for Top Layer Networks. “It’s essential for gaming sites to be available and responsive at all times or they’ll go out of business very rapidly. At the same time, it is critical that these sites aren’t seen as ‘ransom payers’ by online criminals, or they‘ll be continually targeted.”

For the Central American gaming site, the perpetrators initially unleashed a warning SYN-Flood attack to give credibility to their threat. The initial attacks were sufficiently controlled so as not to take the site down, but were significant enough to alert the site owner that the threat should be taken seriously. Just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend x a time of very active online wagering x the warning attack began, jeopardizing a peak revenue period. The attack was followed with a demand threatening a full, debilitating attack unless a ransom fee was wired to their intermediary within a time window designated at 24 to 48 hours.

Based on what the site owners had heard about previous installations of Top Layer’s Attack Mitigator IPS within the gaming community, they had recently purchased an Attack Mitigator. They immediately consulted Top Layer to ensure the product was in the proper configuration to handle this threat. When the hackers unleashed their full attack of distributed SYN and UDP floods on Thanksgiving morning, the attackers realized that the gaming site was not affected and changed their attack tactics, attempting to take it down with a variety of follow-on attacks such as single-source SYN Floods, UDP Floods, NB-Gets, ICMP Ping Floods and UDP Fragment Attacks. After several days, the hackers concluded that the site was solidly protected and ceased their attacks against the site.

“Fortunately for this gaming site, they did not succumb to the threats and pay the ransom. The word that a ‘payer’ has been found quickly spreads around the criminal community and results in longer-term damage and the constant threat of more extortion,” explained Lawrence. “Top Layer’s Attack Mitigator IPS has done a great job protecting critical assets for a number of online gaming sites. In addition, its comprehensive logging and reporting capabilities enable the victims to provide law enforcement with valuable and specific information to help eliminate these threats. As these types of attacks move beyond online gaming to other industry segments, proper protection will be the key to survival, and to the pursuit of justice.”

About the Attack Mitigator IPS

The new Attack Mitigator IPS 5500 is the first family of high-performance in-line security devices that delivers non-stop protection against both network and application-level cyber threats. Top Layer Networks has developed the Attack Mitigator IPS 5500 product family using advanced TopInspect™ deep packet inspection technology to provide protection of critical on-line assets while meeting demanding network infrastructure and performance requirements. By offering comprehensive non-stop protection and outstanding performance, organizations can be protected from the most serious threats x from Code Red, MS Blaster, and SQL Slammer to countless exploits of application vulnerabilities – without suffering a performance penalty.

About Top Layer Networks, Inc.

Founded in 1997, Top Layer Networks (http://www.TopLayer.com) develops network security solutions that enable enterprises worldwide to protect their infrastructure and critical online assets from cyber threats. The Company’s patented, ASIC-based products are engineered to deliver accurate and reliable protection mechanisms while operating as robust in-line network devices. Top Layer Networks is headquartered in Westboro, Massachusetts with sales and support presence in France, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom.

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