Mafiaboy is an example of a teen novice using precoded exploits to launch DDoS attacks against several high-profile Web sites. Mafiaboy's attacks brought down many of the Internet's largest sites. The tools he used are widely available on the Internet and require little computer knowledge, being simple enough for use by script kiddies. Mafiaboy simply ran a computer script that clogged networks full of garbage data. He was deemed an unskilled attacker for several reasons but primarily because he failed to take basic steps to cover his tracks, such as erasing logs. A series of computer taps led to Mafiaboy's arrest.

Nonetheless, his lack of skills did not stop him from shutting down many prominent web sites. Mafiaboy gained illegal access to 75 computers in 52 different networks, planted and activated a DoS tool on them, and used it to attack 11 Internet sites by sending up to 10,700 phony information requests in 10 seconds.

Amazon.com, Yahoo!, Buy.com, CNN.com, and more than 1,200 other sites worldwide, including Dell.com and eBay, are among the sites Mafiaboy was able to cripple. The cost to these companies was estimated to be in the millions or even billions of dollars. For a company whose only storefront is Web-based, this type of attack can be a disaster as thousands of dollars of revenue might be lost per hour of inactivity. Because Amazon.com's Web site was inaccessible for more than a day, the company probably lost several million dollars. Buy.com and Yahoo! offered more concrete numbers: each company lost $1 million every four hours that their networks were inaccessible.

According to investigators, the attacks caused approximately $1.7 billion in losses to the companies although the accuracy of that figure is disputed. Because the attacks were so large, authorities were prompted to investigate. They found that someone by the name of Mafiaboy was bragging about the attacks on web sites, message boards, and even his own site. In addition, authorities were able to associate an IP address to the attacks, which in turn was linked to an Internet service provider (ISP). With the ISP's help, authorities linked the IP address to an account whose phone numbers were linked to Mafiaboy's father.

1. Provide an analytical report explaining the tools that are available and how they can help protect companies from these types of attacks.