May 22, 2014 Akamai: PLXsert Warns of Threat from SNMP Reflection DDoS Attacks
Akamai Contacts Rob Morton
Media Relations
617-444-3641
rmorton@akamai.com
or
Tom Barth
Investor Relations
617-274-7130
tbarth@akamai.com
CAMBRIDGE, MA - May 22, 2014 - Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimising and securing online content and business applications, today released, through the companys Prolexic Security Engineering & Response Team (PLXsert), a new distributed denial of service (DDoS) threat advisory. The advisory highlights a marked resurgence in the use of Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) reflection attacks throughout the past month. These DDoS attacks abuse the SNMP protocol, which is commonly supported by network devices such as printers, switches, firewalls and routers. The advisory is available for download from Prolexic (now part of Akamai) at www.prolexic.com/snmp-reflector.
Network devices hijacked for DDoS attacks
Many network devices use the SNMP protocol to store data, such as IP addresses on a router or the type of toner used in a printer. Further, older devices (those manufactured approximately three or more years ago) used SNMP version 2 and were commonly delivered with the SNMP protocol openly accessible to the public by default.
Through the use of GetBulk requests against SNMP v2, malicious actors can cause a large number of networked devices to send their stored data all at once to a target in an attempt to overwhelm the resources of the target. This kind of DDoS attack, called a distributed reflection and amplification (DrDoS) attack, allows attackers to use a relatively small amount of their own resources to create a massive amount of malicious traffic.
The use of specific types of protocol reflection attacks such as SNMP surge from time to time, said Stuart Scholly, senior vice president and general manager. Security Business Unit, Akamai. Newly available SNMP reflection tools have fueled these attacks.
Details of one of the SNMP attack tools are included in the DDoS threat advisory.
Network administrators are encouraged to search for and secure SNMP v.2 devices, added Scholly. The Internet community has been active in blacklisting the devices involved in recent DDoS attacks, but we also need network administrators to take the remediation steps described in the threat advisory. Network administrators can help prevent more devices from being found and used by malicious actors.
In the advisory, PLXsert shares its analysis and details about SNMP Reflector DDoS attacks, including:
How to identify an attack from the SNMP Reflector DDoS tool
Samples of source code
Payloads
IDS snort rule (attack signature)
Remediation instructions for owners of devices that support the SNMP v2 protocol
A complimentary copy of the DDoS threat advisory is available for download at www.prolexic.com/snmp-reflector.
Prolexic, now part of Akamai, offers DDoS protection solutions that leverage proprietary DDoS filtering techniques and the worlds largest cloud-based DDoS mitigation network. Akamai completed the acquisition of Prolexic in February 2014. Together with Prolexic, Akamai is providing customers with a comprehensive portfolio of security solutions designed to defend an enterprises Web and IP infrastructure against application-layer, network-layer and data centre attacks delivered via the Internet. To learn more about how Prolexic solutions stop DDoS attacks and protect business, please visit www.prolexic.com, or follow Prolexic on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and @Prolexic on Twitter.
About Akamai
Akamai is the leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimising and securing online content and business applications. At the core of the Companys solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform providing extensive reach, coupled with first class reliability, security, visibility and expertise. Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud. To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.
Top
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
May 22, 2014 Akamai: PLXsert Warns of Threat from SNMP Reflection DDoS Attacks 
