Users at risk after web host attack

Users have been warned to brace themselves for attacks on sites which provide patch downloads and web hosting services. The warning from analysts came after up to 40 blue-chip companies were affected by a denial of service attack on servers run by Akamai, a company that specialises in boosting website performance. Akamai customers Microsoft, Google, Symantec, Trend Micro, Apple and Yahoo were among the websites hit by the attack on Akamai's domain name system, which converts www site names into IP numbers.

The attack will concern users who rely on these suppliers for critical services, patches and updates. Graham Titterington, principal analyst at Ovum, said, "Generally, there is no comeback for users of such sites. You should get the service you require but there may only be one or two firms with service level agreements for their websites."

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