Following a series of cyber attacks on multiple Dyn client websites including Netflix, Twitter and Amazon, business software maker Oracle Corp announced that it would purchase the internet traffic routing company Monday, but declined to share financial information.
Oracle has been on track to expand its cloud services in order to compete with similar services offered by Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Wired anticipates that the purchase of Dyn could offer Oracle critical date regarding traffic and internet usage that could help it shape and develop its cloud services.
Dyn is capable of tracking internet usage in valuable ways, including ways to optimize network performance, making it a historically valuable tool in tracking major events like a DDOS attack and what its impact is.
“That’s something that is unique. How do people attack networks? That’s a moving target,” said IDC analyst Elisabeth Rainge. “That ability to look into internet performance and develop geographic intelligence is the thing to look at.” This coveted ability makes Dyn a critical acquisition for Oracle.
Last month, a major distributed denial of service attempt shut down traffic to multiple major websites controlled by Dyn, bringing internet streaming over their networks to a halt. The DDOS attack involved an estimated 100,000 or more connected devices to overwhelm servers and close access for millions of internet subscribers.
The attack came in two waves, and shut down traffic for multiple hours. The first was generalized around Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the western American coast, but the second concentrated on the east coast of the United States.
According to Dyn vice president Scott Hilton, the attack has highlighted weaknesses in Dyn’s services. “This attack has opened up an important conversation about internet security and volatility .. Not only has it highlighted vulnerabilities in the security of ‘Internet of Things’ (IOT) devices that need to be addressed, but it has also sparked further dialogue in the internet infrastructure community about the future of the internet.”
A government investigation into the attack has so far produced little information. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Monday that investigations were still ongoing, but they suspected a non-state actor. “But I wouldn’t want to be conclusively definitive about that yet … That’s an early call,” he added.
