I think this is old news.  There was a cover story back in 1996 time frame on  Mae_east.  We have to ask how likely is this with many of the top backbones doing private peering over local loops, how much damage would occur if an exchange point where hit?

I have 2 different questions.  1) In the current environment, are peering circuits running fuller then in previous years.  I ask after there has been questions on UUNET/L3 Capacity in europe etc.  If the case is so, then an attack in one peering location/region might cause major problems as other peering sessions become overloaded.

2)  Wouldnt an attach on particular servers that are NOT redundant have a more significant affect?  Are microsoft's servers mirrored?

Just posing a scenario.

Thought this might be worth passing on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2514651.stm
 
There is a recent book out called "Linked: The New Science of Networks" which details the potential for causing widespread Internet damage by targeting a few hubs instead of random or widespread attacks against large numbers of hosts.  This simulation seems to backup the author's concerns.
 
Irwin


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David Diaz
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