09 December 2015

The Janet network uses more than 5,000km of fibre for nationwide connectivity (right click to save image in new tab for larger view).

Janet, the UK’s research and education network, is the latest organisation to fall victim to cyber attackers.

It has been experiencing a targeted and sustained set of DDoS attacks which have resulted in reduced connectivity and disruption for all of its 18 million users.

Janet is run by Jisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee), a not-for-profit organisation that provides digital services and solutions to the UK’s higher, further education and skills sectors. 

On a statement on its website, Jisc says the attacks were detected on 8 December. It says various blocks and filtering are being put in place to limit the impact of the disruption, and that the details of each attack are subject to change.

The organisation adds that it has had to reduce its public updates via Twitter and website, as its suspects that this information can be used to inform attacks. 

Jisc also received a DDoS attack on its website at jisc.ac.uk which resulted in its closure. Customers affected by the outage were contacted and provided with up-to-date information via alternative channels. The website remained closed until the attack had subsided but has since re-opened.

Jisc executive director Tim Kidd says engineers are doing everything they can to restore normal services.

Tim Kidd, executive director, Jisc technologies, apologised for any inconvenience caused, and said: “We understand the importance of connectivity to colleges, universities and other public sector organisations. 

“We are doing everything in our power to ensure normal service in resumed as soon as possible, and in the meantime to minimise any disruption that users of the Janet network may be experiencing.”

Janet’s offers nationwide coverage using more that 5,000km of fibre. Its backbone runs at 100Gbps with an interconnect capacity of around 40Gbps.