Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) was under Denial of Service (DOS) attacks last week, resulting in ISP traffic being hampered and network access reduced to a great extent, causing Internet users long delays in logging in. DOS attacks happen when hackers use special software to send millions of requests (packets) to the host network, which results in choking the system and making it crash. Director IT Maintenance (ITM) of PTCL, Mazhar Amin explained that an effort to trace initiators of DOS attacks had been initiated. PTCL has approached Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) to locate the hackers through Internet Protocol (IP) and curtail such attacks. Almost all ISPs have net access from PTCL except a select few, which use independent links through International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC). Various ISPs contacted in this regard blamed outdated router-based technology and Chinese components used widely by the PTCL as the root cause of the delay in repelling this attack. Full Story