Security News > 2021 > May > Massive DDoS Attack Disrupts Belgium Parliament

Belgian ISP Belnet has restored its service after a massive distributed denial of service attack earlier this week that cut off Internet access to numerous government, public, scientific and educational agencies, including Belgium's Parliament and some law-enforcement agencies.

Upon investigation, it seems the attack-a coordinated effort targeting the Belgium government-also affected other ISPs in what was the largest DDoS attack the country has seen, according to reports.

While Belnet restored service to its own network and website by Tuesday evening, the attack continues to have ongoing consequences, with some customers still unable to connect to websites and online services, according to Belnet.

The massive scale of the attack indicates that threat actors did not have Belnet in their crosshairs, but aimed to take down the network of the Belgian government, Geert Baudewijns, CEO of security company Secutec, told VRT. Secutec providers security services for the Belgian government.

Traffic flow that flooded networks in the attack came from some 29 countries, according to reports, although the original source or perpetrator of the attack has not yet been identified, according to Belnet.

The attack also caused problems for distance learning at several universities and colleges, which continue to offer online services due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as caused ticket-purchasing problems with Brussel's transit company, STIB. Belnet, the Center for Cybersecurity Belgium and other authorities and security organizations are continuing to monitor and investigate the situation, and Belnet has filed a complaint with Belgium's Federal Computer Crime Unit.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/ddos-disrupts-belgium/165911/