back to article Did your UK biz just pay £1,500 to stop a DDoS? You've been had

What kind of a grifter pretends he's going to DDoS you? The kind that easily makes off with a lot of cash, it seems. "Hackers" who have been making empty DDoS threats while posing as the Armada Collective appear to have have moved on. No, they didn't stop scamming people, they just changed their modus operandi: they're now …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The problem for these companies is

    are they charlatans, or are they indeed going to carry out the attack if you don't pay.

    A mugger may pull a knife on you and say they are going to stab you if you don't hand the money over. Just because you hand the money over and survived, doesn't mean they weren't going to stab you.

    However, some of the money may be spent more wisely on DDoS mitigation, rather than paying the mob.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The problem for these companies is

      The problem is that DDoS mitigation is a flaming expensive thing to buy, and most people don't even know what to do. It's the next generation of the "your domain name is about to expire" (in 3 months) "and you will be invisible if you don't sign up with us" (in small print accompanied by "this is an offer") to keep it "legal".

    2. veti Silver badge

      Re: The problem for these companies is

      You can't buy "mitigation" from DDOS by paying off criminals.

      When the Mafia does this kind of thing in meatspace, it works because it can actually offer protection, of a sort. Try making criminal threats against a business that's already paid off their local mobsters, and see how long you live.

      In cyberspace - that doesn't work. If Armada promises not to DDOS you today, they've still got absolutely no way of preventing Lizard Squad from doing it tomorrow. So if you're fool enough to pay them, what you're doing is establishing yourself as a profitable mark - you should expect to get a similar demand, with the serial number filed off, from "another group" next week.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The problem for these companies is

        If Armada promises not to DDOS you today, they've still got absolutely no way of preventing Lizard Squad from doing it tomorrow. So if you're fool enough to pay them, what you're doing is establishing yourself as a profitable mark

        Absolutely correct. I note with interest that some companies have actually compounded that strategic error by then further making it publicly known that they have done so, usually in the press. Personally I don't know any way to make it more certain it's going to happen again.

        There is honestly no helping some people.

  2. TRT Silver badge

    Lizard squad?

    Well, perhaps just monitor the situation.

    1. captain veg Silver badge

      Re: Lizard squad?

      Then get Comodo in.

      -A.

      1. kryptonaut

        Re: Lizard squad?

        These things do tend to drag on.

    2. cd

      Re: Lizard squad?

      From a gilacopter.

    3. Paul_Murphy

      Re: Lizard squad?

      I just caught the tail end of this thread.

      1. captain veg Silver badge

        Re: Lizard squad?

        Newt wrong with that.

        -A.

  3. paulnick2

    I dont know the reason why most of the BIZ spend too much on DDoS protection? Why wouldn't they start using anti-DDoS VPN which hides your real IP from the attackers and filters the incoming traffic to your connection through its anti-DDoS mitigation servers. You just need to search "PureVPN ddos protection" & check the first result on Google.

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