Massive cyberattack takes down major websites across the U.S.
![A cyberattack took down several major U.S. websites.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o4PwX2NWkakcMoazd3etpF-415-80.jpg)
A major cyberattack brought down numerous major American websites Friday, including The New York Times, Twitter, Etsy, Tumblr, Spotify, Comcast, and more. The pages were down for at least two hours Friday morning before being downed again in the afternoon.
How was it possible to take down all those sites at once?Someone attacked the architecture that held them together — the domain-name system, or DNS, the technical network that redirects users from easy-to-remember addresses like theatlantic.com to a company's actual web servers. The assault took the form of a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) on one of the major companies that provides other companies access to DNS. A DDoS attack is one in which an attacker floods sites "with so much junk traffic that it can no longer serve legitimate visitors," as the security researcher Brian Krebs put it in a blog post Friday morning. [The Atlantic]
Such attacks are on the rise in the United States, though it's not yet clear who was behind Friday's. "These attacks are significantly larger than the ones [companies are] used to seeing," security technologist Bruce Schneier said. "They last longer. They're more sophisticated. And they look like probing."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures An Olympic training session, a cleaning crustacean and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
The pros and cons of buying a fixer-upper
The Explainer Does it make sense to buy a home in need of a little TLC?
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
The origin and evolution of the Kamala Harris coconut meme
The Explainer You think it just fell out of a coconut tree?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published