Internet security experts say that misconfigured DSL and cable modems are
worsening a well-known problem with the Internet's DNS (domain name system),
making it easier for hackers to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)
attacks against their victims.
According to research set to be released in the next few days, part of the
problem is blamed on the growing number of consumer devices on the Internet that
are configured to accept DNS queries from anywhere, what networking experts call
an "open recursive" or "open resolver" system. As more consumers demand
broadband Internet, service providers are rolling out modems configured this way
to their customers said Cricket Liu, vice president of architecture with
Infoblox, the DNS appliance company that sponsored the research. "The two
leading culprits we found were Telefonica and France Telecom," he said.
