Cyber-attack hits UK internet service providers

Cyber-attack has hit the UK An "unprecedented" and a combined cyber-attack has hit many UK providers of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service providers, according to the industry association.

The industrial organization Comms Council UK said many of its members were targeted for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in recent weeks.

"The biggest threat has been posed to the entire industry," a spokesman said.

Ofcom said he was aware of the situation.

DDoS Attack works by filling a website or internet service with internet traffic in an attempt to discard it offline, or make it inaccessible to service providers.

In the past, they often took offline websites and were sometimes used to make political statements.

But recent attacks have targeted VoIP in an attempt to defraud those companies.

VoIP providers offer Internet-based calls to a variety of clients, including businesses and social services, including the police and the NHS.

In a statement, Comms Council UK said the DDoS attacks on British VoIP companies took place four weeks ago and "appear to be part of an international theft-focused campaign by cybercriminals".

The council said it was in contact with the UK government, Ofcom and the National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC) on the matter.

A spokesman for the Comms Council UK told the BBC he could not specify how many firms were affected and added that he would describe the level of attack as "unprecedented".

"We have never seen anything like this since we were established in 2004," he said.

"Ransom threats have been made to many providers and the biggest threat has been made to the entire industry.

"The attackers have already begun this process, and the attack continues."

A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We are aware that some networks have had problems recently.

"We are in contact with them to find out the magnitude and cause of the problem, and we are in close contact with the UK Government and the national Cyber ​​Security Center.

The technology to protect businesses and websites from DDoS attacks has greatly improved in recent years, says cyber-security expert Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey.

"DDoS is amazing as an attack," he added.

"Ransomware is very common among criminals who are currently extorting money."

The NCSC said it was aware of the DDoS attacks and was working with its partners to fund the companies involved.