<s>
On	O
October	O
21	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
three	O
consecutive	O
distributed	O
denial-of-service	O
attacks	O
were	O
launched	O
against	O
the	O
Domain	B-Protocol
Name	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
(	O
DNS	B-Protocol
)	O
provider	O
Dyn	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
DNS	B-Protocol
provider	O
,	O
Dyn	B-Protocol
provides	O
to	O
end-users	O
the	O
service	O
of	O
mapping	O
an	O
Internet	O
domain	O
name	O
—	O
when	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
entered	O
into	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
—	O
to	O
its	O
corresponding	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
distributed	O
denial-of-service	O
(	O
DDoS	O
)	O
attack	O
was	O
accomplished	O
through	O
numerous	O
DNS	B-Protocol
lookup	O
requests	O
from	O
tens	O
of	O
millions	O
of	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
activities	O
are	O
believed	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
executed	O
through	O
a	O
botnet	B-Architecture
consisting	O
of	O
many	O
Internet-connected	B-Operating_System
devices	I-Operating_System
—	O
such	O
as	O
printers	O
,	O
IP	B-Algorithm
cameras	I-Algorithm
,	O
residential	B-Application
gateways	I-Application
and	O
baby	O
monitors	O
—	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
infected	O
with	O
the	O
Mirai	B-Language
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
US	O
Department	O
of	O
Homeland	O
Security	O
started	O
an	O
investigation	O
into	O
the	O
attacks	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
a	O
White	B-Application
House	I-Application
source	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dyn	B-Protocol
's	O
chief	O
strategist	O
said	O
in	O
an	O
interview	O
that	O
the	O
assaults	O
on	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
servers	O
were	O
very	O
complex	O
and	O
unlike	O
everyday	O
DDoS	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dyn	B-Protocol
disclosed	O
that	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
business	O
risk	O
intelligence	O
firm	O
FlashPoint	O
and	O
Akamai	B-Application
Technologies	I-Application
,	O
the	O
attack	O
was	O
a	O
botnet	B-Architecture
coordinated	O
through	O
numerous	O
Internet	O
of	O
Things-enabled	O
(	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
devices	O
,	O
including	O
cameras	O
,	O
residential	B-Application
gateways	I-Application
,	O
and	O
baby	O
monitors	O
,	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
infected	O
with	O
Mirai	B-Language
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
attribution	O
of	O
the	O
attack	O
to	O
the	O
Mirai	B-Language
botnet	I-Language
had	O
been	O
previously	O
reported	O
by	O
BackConnect	O
Inc.	O
,	O
another	O
security	O
firm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dyn	B-Protocol
stated	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
receiving	O
malicious	O
requests	O
from	O
tens	O
of	O
millions	O
of	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mirai	B-Language
is	O
designed	O
to	O
brute-force	O
the	O
security	O
on	O
an	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
device	O
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
controlled	O
remotely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cybersecurity	O
investigator	O
Brian	O
Krebs	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
for	O
Mirai	B-Language
had	O
been	O
released	O
onto	O
the	O
Internet	O
in	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
manner	O
some	O
weeks	O
prior	O
,	O
which	O
made	O
the	O
investigation	O
of	O
the	O
perpetrator	O
more	O
difficult	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
13	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Justice	O
Department	O
announced	O
that	O
three	O
men	O
(	O
Paras	O
Jha	O
,	O
21	O
,	O
Josiah	O
White	O
,	O
20	O
,	O
and	O
Dalton	O
Norman	O
,	O
21	O
)	O
had	O
entered	O
guilty	O
pleas	O
in	O
cybercrime	O
cases	O
relating	O
to	O
the	O
Mirai	B-Language
and	O
clickfraud	O
botnets	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
WikiLeaks	O
alluded	O
to	O
the	O
attack	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
tweeting	O
"	O
Mr.	O
Assange	O
is	O
still	O
alive	O
and	O
WikiLeaks	O
is	O
still	O
publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
September	O
20	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
a	O
WeLiveSecurity	O
article	O
stated	O
that	O
its	O
three	O
creators	O
meant	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
of	O
gaining	O
an	O
advantage	O
in	O
fierce	O
competition	O
surrounding	O
the	O
computer	O
game	O
Minecraft	B-Application
–	O
by	O
preventing	O
players	O
from	O
using	O
competitors’	O
servers	O
and	O
driving	O
them	O
to	O
their	O
own	O
servers	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
ultimately	O
make	O
money	O
off	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
