The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a warning regarding ongoing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting U.S. organizations across multiple sectors.
The agency advises organizations to proactively prepare their security teams to mitigate the impact of such attacks by quickly applying firewall rules or redirecting malicious traffic through DoS protection services.
Alternatively, internet service providers (ISPs) can offer guidance on appropriate response measures. CISA emphasizes that these attacks can result in significant costs, downtime, and reputational damage for organizations.
The warning comes in the wake of multiple DDoS attacks claimed by a threat actor known as Anonymous Sudan. The targets have included the websites of prominent U.S. government departments such as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS.gov) and the U.S. Commerce Department.
Anonymous Sudan has also targeted private organizations, including Stripe’s payment management dashboard. The group’s attacks have caused disruptions to major online services, including Microsoft’s Outlook, OneDrive, and Azure portals.
In response to the escalating threat, CISA, in collaboration with the FBI and MS-ISAC, provides guidance to organizations on preparing for and recovering from DDoS attacks.
They recommend enrolling in dedicated DDoS protection services and utilizing General Services Administration (GSA) tools like the Managed Security Service (MSS) and the Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS).
The attacks attributed to Anonymous Sudan highlight the need for robust DDoS mitigation strategies and proactive security measures to safeguard critical online services and protect against future attacks.
