AFN has experienced three Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks:  two minor attacks on December 29 & 30, and one sustained attack on January 2. 

The attack on January 2 was unprecedented in its scope, maliciousness, and sophistication.  Most DDOS attack a single IP; as we mitigated each attack, the target shifted to another random address.  At the peak of the attack, our edge router processed 2.7 million packets per second (our normal peak is 800,000 pkts/sec).  The attacker also targeted over 500 IP addresses on our network. 

The goal of a DDOS attack is to disrupt internet access. No customer data was accessed or stolen during these attacks. As ensuring the integrity and security of our network infrastructure is the top priority for City staff, we have notified the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.  We are following their guidelines, which include working with our upstream transit providers to assist with blocking the attacks.  By their nature, DDOS attacks will affect internet service.  We do everything we can to minimize the duration and the number of customers who are affected.