B2B Cyber Attacks

When you think of cyber-attackers, most of us think of shadowy individuals or groups intent on some form of personal profit. But there's a B2B aspect to cyber attacks, and Revision3 is one of the latest victims. Revision3 is an Internet-based broadcast network - think a TV station, except completely online. To coordinate delivery of its shows to subscribers, Revision3 runs a Bittorrent tracker. Enter MediaDefender - which claims to be a P2P anti-piracy and marketing firm.

Sometime in the months leading to Memorial Day, MediaDefender exploited a weakness in the Revision3 tracker server and planted their own Bittorrent trackers. When Revision3 closed the hole and thus dirupted the MediaDefender backdoor, MediaDefender responded with a Memorial Day Denial of Service attack that crippled the Revision3 tracker server and other internal systems. Revision3 has posted a fascinating play-by-play of the DoS attack, complete with MediaDefender's own admission of guilt.