[cryptoz]

This particular attack will likely eventually be mitigated (hours? days?). But it seems there is nothing preventing similar attacks from starting at any time, and be less possible to prevent each time.

Personally, I fear we are closer to global-scale, machine-learning-based attacks that find vulnerabilities, exploit them, and change patterns on the fly. We may not have a stable internet any more.

Am I blindly fearmongering? I hope not. But these are new waters. Insecure IoT is growing every hour and there's no clear path to stop it from being exploited more and more.

[leephillips]

Trying to fight a war purely with defense is usually a dangerous strategy. The only long-term solution is to find the attackers and take them out.

[tunesmith]

That's irony, right? I can't even tell anymore.

[gtirloni]

Microsoft has had an active role in taking down botnets.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/03/microsoft-takes-down-doz...

[sosuke]

I do remember something about a virus that patched the computers it infected. White hat virus!

[leephillips]

No, not irony. Our infrastructure is under attack. Why not fight back?

[solipsism]

Based on what international laws? The source is likely in a country that doesn't play nice with our law enforcement and extradition requests. So what are you advocating?

[leephillips]

Wait until they take that relaxing foreign vacation after all their hard work.

[briandear]

Cut their internet access. Take down their power grid.

If you're being attacked, I'm not sure what international law has to do with it. A country has the right to defend itself -- it doesn't require the UN to grant 'permission.' If you are in the midst of being attacked, waiting for the UN or some other disfunctional body to 'approve' would be like asking the teacher for permission to defend yourself while you're getting your face pounded in. Countries are sovereign. They shouldn't need permission to defend themselves when they are under an immediate threat.

[solipsism]

Your Netflix stopped working. You're talking about going to war.

If you're being attacked, I'm not sure what international law has to do with it.

That's incredibly naive. Trumpian almost. Even in the midst of real war (you know, when people are dying, not sitting on the couch unable to place a Prime order), we follow international law. Because we want everyone else to as well.

[mancerayder]

"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."?

[tedmiston]

Let's build a botnet to DDoS the DDoS botnet. /s /kinda

[cm2187]

...or simply send a few hackers to Guantanamo!

[alexbeloi]

Except other adversarial technology domains like encryption or spamming where defensive technologies are extremely good when used and 'finding the attackers and taking them out' is ridiculously impractical.

[empath75]

Might not be wildly impractical to brick insecure iot devices.