Cyber Incident Victim: Cedexis
Date:
May 2017
Location:
France
Summary
A sophisticated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted Cedexis, a content delivery optimization provider, causing widespread outages for multiple major French news organizations including Le Monde and Le Figaro, alongside several manufacturing websites. The incident disrupted three of the company's five content delivery networks, partially degrading infrastructure across its Paris and Portland operations before mitigation efforts restored services. The attack occurred amid heightened cybersecurity concerns following recent phishing incidents affecting French political campaigns, though no direct connection between these events was established in available reporting. Cedexis confirmed the attack overwhelmed its systems with unexpected traffic but stabilized operations through ongoing monitoring and response measures.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On May 10, 2017, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted Cedexis, a Portland-based content delivery optimization provider, causing significant disruptions to multiple French news websites and other online services. The attack commenced at approximately 2 pm GMT, overwhelming Cedexis’s infrastructure with unexpected traffic from multiple sources, a hallmark of DDoS incidents. This resulted in a partial but widespread outage affecting customers relying on Cedexis’s services to accelerate content delivery. Major French media outlets including Le Monde, Le Figaro, and L’Obs experienced downtime, alongside several unspecified manufacturing websites. Cedexis confirmed the attack was unique and sophisticated in nature, exploiting its globally distributed networks spanning Paris and Portland. The company reported that three of its five content delivery networks (CDNs) were rendered inoperable during the incident, directly impairing its ability to route traffic efficiently for clients.
Cedexis prioritized service restoration, implementing mitigation measures to counteract the attack while publicly acknowledging customer impact through statements and Twitter updates. By the time of their Twitter confirmation, all services had been restored, though the company maintained ongoing monitoring to ensure stability. The outage occurred days after French President Emmanuel Macron disclosed that his presidential campaign had been compromised by phishing attacks, though no direct connection between these events was established in available reports. Technical specifics regarding the attack’s scale, duration, or exact vectors were not disclosed by Cedexis. The incident underscored the operational risks posed by third-party service dependencies, as the disruption to Cedexis’s infrastructure cascaded to diverse sectors including news media and industrial entities without requiring direct targeting of those endpoints.