Hackers exploit 'serious flaw' in architecture of internet

Hackers are exploiting a "serious flaw" in the architecture of the internet, says an online security firm. A vulnerability in the software which directs users to websites may mean some sites are offline over the next few days.

The hackers are targeting Bind, a piece of software which translates URLs into IP addresses, allowing users to visit websites by typing in meaningful words such as theweek.co.uk rather than a string of confusing digits.

A bug was discovered in Bind some time ago, the BBC reports - and a patch is already available to fix the weak point and block the hackers. Unfortunately, says Daniel Cid of internet security firm Sucuri, many site owners have not yet applied it.

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Cid said: "Based on our experience, server software, like Bind, Apache, OpenSSL and others, do not get patched as often as they should. A few of our clients, in different industries, had their DNS servers crashed because of it."

The weakness in Bind allows hackers to launch DoS (denial of service) attacks on servers, bombarding them with so many requests for pages that they crash and have to be taken offline.

There is expected to be a flurry of such attacks over the next few days as hackers learn how to exploit the problem and make hay while the sun shines. Site owners will be scrambling to update their software.

However, Cid added that the situation was not disastrous, with the impact on most users minimal. Sites can still be reached via other routes, with cached addresses (those for sites a user has already visited) still working around the world.

He said: "It's not a doomsday scenario, it's a question of making sure the DNS structure can continue to work while patches are rolled out. Average internet users won't feel much pain, besides a few sites and email servers [being] down."