Attack of the clones

the following though-experiment derives from our HALO-Attack/Refeverse HTTP-Reflection-Article

Description

To illustrate the scale of this attack method, let's consider a small thought experiment. Imagine a large botnet, such as Meris or Mirai, consisting of 50,000 bots. Now, let's create a list of all publicly accessible Git repositories on GitHub with more than 1 Mbit of source code. We provide this list to the bots and instruct them to execute a git clone against randomly selected repositories in an endless loop during the attack.

Based on our conservative average measurement of 100 Mbit/s Download-Traffic per bot, the total downstream-traffic from GitHub would reach a staggering 5 TB/s. It's reasonable to assume that this level of traffic would cause significant stress for the GitHub Tech Team.

This scenario highlights the potential impact and scale of DDoS attacks, if carefully crafted. As interconnected systems and services continue to expand, attackers can leverage large botnets and target widely used platforms like GitHub to generate massive traffic volumes. The consequences of such attacks extend beyond the targeted platform, affecting the availability and performance of critical services.

The example above serves as a reminder of the need for continuous vigilance and proactive measures to defend against DDoS attacks. As technology advances and attackers become more sophisticated, organizations must remain prepared to adapt their defense mechanisms, enhance their resilience, and ensure the uninterrupted availability of their digital services.

By understanding the potential magnitude of such attack methods and staying proactive in implementing security measures, organizations can minimize the impact of DDoS attacks and safeguard the stability and reliability of their digital infrastructure.