What motive does the attacker have?<p>There are lots of articles on HN about DDoS attacks on various websites or online services. Most of the discussion is about the bandwidth used and the technical mechanics of the attack and defense.<p>This is interesting, but there's little discussion of the economic motivation.<p>I assume the kind of infrastructure used to launch this attack is not free. I understand people or groups might be using this as a way to further various political agendas or simply for bragging rights. I also understand DDoS attacks might be an extortion tool.<p>In the former case, wouldn't the attacker try to loudly and publicly claim responsibility? In the latter case, wouldn't the defenders take pride in their "we don't negotiate with extortionists" stance while they're in disclosure mode?<p>Or maybe this is just some rich guy's private hobby, and he does it for the amusement he gets out of reading about people's reactions when they can't figure out who's responsible?<p>It seems like the set of rich guys who have the technical skills to do this kind of thing without getting caught would be kinda small. And if they hire people, the bigger their organization gets, the likelier they'll hire a law enforcement plant -- or simply someone with a conscience -- and the game will be up.<p>Organized crime might be a possibility, but I assume those guys are interested in making money, not just committing crimes and wreaking havoc. So what's the business model that motivates these attacks? If it's extortion, why do the targets feel comfortable revealing the attack, but uncomfortable revealing they're being squeezed for money?