It seems that there’s a purpose behind the viruses we’ve all been getting: old-fashioned extortion. Reuters reports that extortionists — many thought to come from eastern Europe — have been targetting casinos and retailers, but one recent high-profile victim was the Port of Houston. The attacks, which can cripple a corporate network with a barrage of bogus data requests, are followed by a demand for money. An effective attack can knock a Web site offline for extended periods.Online casinos appear to be a favorite target as they do brisk business and many are located in the Caribbean where investigators are poorly equipped to tackle such investigations. Police said because of a lack of information from victimized companies, they are unsure whether these are isolated incidents or the start of a new crime wave.
Last week, the online payment service WorldPay admitted to suffering a major DDoS attack that lasted three days. WorldPay, owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been fully restored. The NHTCU spokeswoman said the investigation into the WorldPay is ongoing.