In January, file-sharing site ExtraTorrent became the latest victim of a DDoS attack. The site was down for two days. That’s no small matter when you’re the third most popular file-sharing site, with nearly a million visitors a day. Not only did the company have to spend time and money stopping the attack, they lost ad revenue for the time they were down. Since their daily ad revenue is around $35,000, that packed quite a punch. And then there’s the risk that disenfranchised users will go somewhere else – and not come back.
The attack also caused considerable disruption for users, many of whom had already had to scramble for a replacement when The Pirate Bay (TPB) – previously the most popular torrent site – was shuttered. Many of TPB’s users moved to ExtraTorrent, so they had to be feeling a bit of déjà vu when ExtraTorrent went dark. ExtraTorrent took to Facebook and Twitter to assure users that they’d be back up soon, but there were still some glitches for a few days.
ExtraTorrent is now back online, but that doesn’t mean the threat is over. DDoS attacks are a global reality, and many companies have neither the funds nor the expertise to fend them off internally. That’s where having a professional come in can really help. You wouldn’t perform your own surgery, would you? Of course not. You’d go to a surgeon – a specialist.
Ideally, every business would put DDoS protocols in place now, as a preventive measure. Think of it as getting vaccinated. But if you get attacked, know that there are services out there to help your business get back on its feet.
Wishing you a happy and secure new year!
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