Consider today’s blog to be an all points bulletin. The MeloTel team stands in solidarity with all other VoIP providers against those who perpetrate DDoS attacks. DDoS stands for “distributed denial-of-service”. Such an attack is a malevolent attempt to interrupt the standard traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target with a flood of internet traffic. A DDoS attack is like a traffic jam that prevents regular traffic from reaching its destination.
Quebec-based telephony provider, VoIP.ms is currently facing a DDoS attack.
As reported by Ax Sharma on ArsTechnica.com, VoIP.ms is experiencing a serious disruption in phone calls and services. “The incident began around September 16 and has put a strain on the VoIP provider’s systems, websites, and operations,” Sharma details, “VoIP.ms serves over 80,000 customers across 125 countries, many of whom are now facing issues with voice calls.”
Let it be clear that MeloTel does not have any resources with VoIP.ms. Although they are considered one of our competitors, we truly wish them all the best. We strongly believe crimes like the DDoS attack they are facing should face significant persecution. We’re of the mind that serious actions should be taken by the Canadian government to thwart these attacks.
DDoS attacks must be addressed at the highest level.
As far as we’re concerned, this is completely unacceptable. No company should be extorted without any repercussions for the perpetrators. Sharma points out that multiple demands have been made by the threat actor to VoIP.ms. This incident has been labelled an extortion attack.
As Sharma informs, the threat actors are asking VoIP.ms for 100 Bitcoin to stop the DDoS attack. It is the currently equivalent of approximately $5.2 million CAD. “The threat actors behind the DDoS attack go by the name ‘REvil,’ but it cannot be authoritatively established if they represent the same REvil ransomware gang that is known to have previously attacked prominent companies, including the world’s largest meat processor, JBS,” he reveals.
REvil had the audacity to make their demands via Twitter.
In an attempt to bring the unwarranted disruptions to service to a stop, VoIP.ms began tweeting back and forth with REvil on the 18th of September. The conversation did not end amicably. “Ok, enough communication,” tweeted the REvil account, “The price for us to stop is now 100 Bitcoin into the pastebin BTC address. I am sure your customers will appreciate your 0 [expletive] given attitude in multiple law suits.”
Make no mistake that the disruptions to the services provided by VoIP.ms are quite significant. Howard Solomon has also covered this story on ITWorldCanada.com. He reveals that VoIP.ms has 23 servers across Canada and 42 servers in the U.S. for its phone customers. “To restore phone service, customers have been told to point their servers outside their local area,” he writes, “However, for this firm that hasn’t helped.”
VoIP.ms continues to utilize Twitter to communicate with their clients.
“We also want to re-assure you that no matter what, we are processing ALL of our requests and working as fast as we can to catch up with the high volume, thus we are grateful for your patience in the process,” the company tweeted yesterday.
The MeloTel team hopes this situation is resolved quickly and that the criminals behind it are brought to justice.
