The hacker scans the Internet for vulnerable ‘server’ or ‘host’ computers operated by businesses and universities.
The hacker then breaks into the weak computers and secretly stashes a ‘slave’ software program that will await his instructions to begin the attack.
He issues the signal and the slaves begin to broadcast a ‘ping’ request to their locally connected computers, asking whether they are ‘alive,’ that is, online and working.
Last week’s cybervandals will be difficult to nab. They could have mounted the assualts from anywhere in the world. And they used multiple computers belonging to others to cover their tracks.
