What happened?
E8 Markets, a well-known name in prop trading, faced a significant DDoS attack over the weekend, leaving traders locked out of their accounts for two days. Even as markets reopened on Monday, some users continued to report access issues, adding to their frustration. Although E8 Markets managed to restore its systems, the impact of the attack was still being felt.
The trouble began on Friday, with the attack taking down both the E8 Markets website and its trading platform. On Saturday, the company confirmed they were under a DDoS attack and assured users they were working to secure their systems. They also mentioned ongoing security audits to rule out any additional problems. However, communication from the company was limited, leaving many users feeling left in the dark.
Why was this DDoS attack so disruptive?
DDoS attacks typically overwhelm websites or online services by bombarding them with massive amounts of illegitimate traffic, effectively blocking real users from accessing them. In this case, the attackers went after E8 Markets’ trading platform at a critical time—just as the markets were opening. This meant traders couldn’t manage their positions or execute trades, which could have serious financial implications. Another critical factor with timing is that if the company does not have automated detection and mitigation in place, weekend may end up more catastrophic time for a DDoS incident as there might not be engineers et site to fix the problem fat enough.
The attackers used botnets, networks of compromised devices that flood the target with traffic from thousands of different IP addresses. This tactic requires more sophisticated means to block the attack than traditional security measures like IP filtering, as the traffic appears to come from legitimate sources.
Why are trading platforms prime targets?
Trading platforms are increasingly becoming attractive targets for cybercriminals, and this attack on E8 Markets is just the latest example. In recent months, other platforms like Funding Pips and TradeLocker have also faced similar attacks. These platforms are especially vulnerable because even a brief outage can result in substantial financial losses, affecting both traders and the platform itself.
Cybercriminals know this, making trading platforms prime targets for disruptive attacks or ransom demands. By taking down trading systems, attackers can cause chaos, disrupt markets, and potentially extort money from the affected companies.
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