Bruce Schneier believes major DDoS attacks part of military recon to shut down internet

Security researcher Bruce Schneier spotted a series of DDoS attacks which may be part of a larger effort to learn how to take down the internet on a national or even global scale.

The attacks targeted major companies that provide the basic infrastructure for the internet and the incidents seem to appear to have probed the companies' defences to determine how well they can protect themselves, according to a 13 Sept blog post.

Schneier said he is unable to give details concerning which companies were targeted because he spoke with the companies under anonymity, but said the attack rate has increased in the last two years and that his findings are supported by a Verisign DDoS trends report. Schneier said he believes the attacks are part a foreign cyber organisation doing military recon activities.