People are often looking to address how Bitcoin has become so popular throughout all of the years, even though it’s not hard to find reasons why people take a liking to digital currency. Unfortunately, that success sometimes comes at a severe price, and multiple major Bitcoin exchanges have been suffering from distributed denial of service attacks over the past week and a half.
Also read: Bitstamp Opens Credit Card Buying Option To German and Italian Bitcoin Users
When it comes to shutting down a popular platform, a DDoS attack seems to be the preferred method of choice. In doing so, assailants can shut down the web frontend of any platform, although operations in the backend may not always be affected. But in the event of a Bitcoin exchange, a DDoS attack can be extremely powerful.
Assuming assailants are successful in shutting down the front end of a Bitcoin exchange, it will effectively halt all trading as users are unable to submit new orders. While very Bitcoin API offer sits very own API, there are far more traders who rely on the traditional web interface to conduct Bitcoin trades on a daily basis.
Furthermore, a DDoS attack will have an effect on the Bitcoin exchange’s API as well, as it will become either very slow or completely unresponsive. Either way, it is one of the most effective ways to shut down any exchanging going on at a Bitcoin platform, which seems to be what these hackers are after.
When one Bitcoin exchange suffers from a DDoS attack, there is no particular reason to worry. However, now that three of the major Bitcoin exchanges have been suffering from DDoS attacks, several community members are starting to worry whether or not this is a coordinated extortion attempt by a group of hackers.
The first DDoS attack – which targeted the BTCC exchange – was an attempt by a collective of people to obtain Bitcoin as a ransom. Once the BTCC staff would pay up the amount, the attacks would relent. However, the Bitcoin exchange staff had no intentions of giving in to the demand, and the matter seems to have resolved itself without funds changing hands.
Both BTC-E and Bitstamp suffered from minor DDoS attacks as well over the past few days, although both situations were resolved fairly quickly. This is a positive sign for the Bitcoin community, as it is indication exchange platforms are stepping up their game, and will no longer be bullied into paying a ransom anymore.
To some people, these various DDoS attacks can be seen as a sign of the Bitcoin sector maturing. As the price volatility has been all but non-existent throughout 2015, Bitcoin has become an asset used to diversify investment portfolios, rather than something traders will use as a tool for speculation.
Additionally, there is a chance hackers are deliberately targeting Bitcoin exchanges in an attempt to score some funds by offering a ransom-based solution. If this were the case, these hackers will not be very successful in the long run, as exchanges will rather step up their DDoS protection than giving in to these demands.
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