Guernsey police warns online casino operators on DDoS criminals

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on internet gambling firms around the world are nothing new, but a rash of assaults on Channel Islands companies has prompted the police in Guernsey to issue warnings to local companies about a criminal enterprise calling itself DD4BC which has been targeting Guernsey registered firms.

The police say the ‘highly sophisticated’ criminals were unsuccessful in their attempts but companies that rely on using the internet should make sure they have a high level of cyber security  capable of handling large volumes of data used by the criminals to immobilise internet companies, from whom money is subsequently extorted to lift or avoid the attack.

During the last 12-18 months DD4BC has been targeting various companies – ranging from online casinos to banks – with ‘distributed denial of service’ attacks, followed by demands for money, often in the virtual currency Bitcoin.

The police claim that DD4BC recently emailed an extortion notice to several Guernsey firms, followed by an active demonstration of their capabilities.

The criminals assured in the email: ‘Don’t worry, it will not be hard and will stop in 1 hour. It’s just to prove that we are serious.’ The group asks for 30 bitcoin, with a threat that the price goes up if the company does not pay within 24 hours.

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