DNS servers vulnerable spot for hackers

For two hours, users around the country had trouble accessing certain websites on the Internet because Dyn, a firm that hosts domain name servers, was attacked electronically.

Domain Name System (DNS) servers are key to directing traffic on the Internet.

When those servers get bogged down by attacks, they are unable to redirect the Internet traffic to the appropriate sites, resulting in sites not loading properly on computers and smartphones, until a backup server picks up the traffic.

Dyn said on its website that it started monitoring and mitigating the attack, which initially affected the East Coast, at 3:10 a.m. Pacific Time and resolved the issue at 5:20 a.m. But by 7:52 a.m. PT, Dyn said it was again investigating an attack against its servers.