Low Orbit Ion Cannon

LOIC performs a DoS attack (or, when used by multiple individuals, a DDoS attack) on a target site by flooding the server with TCP, UDP, or HTTP packets with the intention of disrupting the service of a particular host. People have used LOIC to join voluntary botnets.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11957367 | work=BBC News | title=Pro-Wikileaks activists abandon Amazon cyber attack | date=9 December 2010}}

The software inspired the creation of an independent JavaScript version called JS LOIC, as well as a LOIC-derived web version called Low Orbit Web Cannon. These enable a DoS from a web browser.{{cite web |url = http://mashable.com/2010/12/09/how-operation-payback-executes-its-attacks/ |title = How Operation Payback Executes Its Attacks |first = Christina |last = Warren |date = December 9, 2010 |publisher = Mashable}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gamefaqs.com/n64/196958-command-and-conquer/faqs/17479|title=Command & Conquer FAQ/Walkthrough for Nintendo 64 by DTran - GameFAQs|website=www.gamefaqs.com|access-date=9 May 2017}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVwtBAAAQBAJ&q=Low+Orbit+Ion+Cannon&pg=PA48|title=Cyberwarfare|first1=Mike|last1=Chapple|first2=University of Notre Dame Mike|last2=Chapple|first3=David|last3=Seidl|date=1 August 2014|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|isbn=9781284058499|access-date=9 May 2017|via=Google Books}}

Security experts quoted by the BBC indicated that well-written firewall rules can filter out most traffic from DDoS attacks by LOIC, thus preventing the attacks from being fully effective.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11971259 |title=Anonymous Wikileaks supporters explain web attacks |access-date=12 December 2010 |date=10 December 2010 |publisher=BBC }} In at least one instance, filtering out all UDP and ICMP traffic blocked a LOIC attack. Firewall rules of this sort are more likely to be effective when implemented at a point upstream of an application server's Internet uplink to avoid the uplink from exceeding its capacity.{{cite web|url=http://www.crime-research.org/library/grcdos.pdf|title=The attacks on GRC.COM|access-date=2012-01-25|date=2001-02-06|publisher=GRC.com}}

LOIC attacks are easily identified in system logs, and the attack can be tracked down to the IP addresses used.{{cite web|url=http://www.thepowerbase.com/2012/03/low-orbit-ion-cannon-exposed/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306042907/http://www.thepowerbase.com/2012/03/low-orbit-ion-cannon-exposed/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2012 |title=Low Orbit Ion Cannon: Exposed |access-date=March 4, 2012 |date=March 3, 2012 |first=Tom |last=Nardi |publisher=The Powerbase }}

File:LOWC v.1.png

LOIC was used by Anonymous (a group that spawned from the /b/ board of 4chan) during Project Chanology to attack websites from the Church of Scientology, once more to (successfully) attack the Recording Industry Association of America's website in October 2010,{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371784,00.asp |title='Anonymous' DDoS Attack Takes Down RIAA Site |work=PC Magazine |first=Mark |last=Hachman |date=October 29, 2010}} and it was again used by Anonymous during their Operation Payback in December 2010 to attack the websites of companies and organizations that opposed WikiLeaks.{{cite news |url = http://www.theage.com.au/technology/security/the-aussie-who-blitzed-visa-mastercard-and-paypal-with-the-low-orbit-ion-cannon-20101209-18qr1.html |title = The Aussie who blitzed Visa, MasterCard and PayPal with the Low Orbit Ion Cannon |first = Asher |last = Moses |newspaper = The Age |date = December 9, 2010 |location = Melbourne}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11968605 |title=Anonymous Wikileaks supporters mull change in tactics |work=BBC News |date=December 10, 2010}}

In retaliation for the shutdown of the file sharing service Megaupload and the arrest of four workers, members of Anonymous launched a DDoS attack upon the websites of Universal Music Group (the company responsible for the lawsuit against Megaupload), the United States Department of Justice, the United States Copyright Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the MPAA, Warner Music Group and the RIAA, as well as the HADOPI, all on the afternoon of January 19, 2012, through LOIC.{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/01/19/anonymous-hackers-claims-attack-on-doj-universal-music-and-riaa-after-megaupload-takedown/ |title=Anonymous Hackers Hit DOJ, FBI, Universal Music, MPAA And RIAA After MegaUpload Takedown |work=Forbes |access-date=2013-11-22}} In general, the attack hoped to retaliate against those who Anonymous members believed harmed their digital freedoms.{{Cite news|url=http://amodern.net/article/the-information-defense-industry-and-the-culture-of-networks/|title=THE INFORMATION DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND THE CULTURE OF NETWORKS - Amodern|work=Amodern|access-date=2018-11-09|language=en-US}}

The LOIC application is named after the ion cannon, a fictional weapon from many sci-fi works, video games,Homeworld, Homeworld 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, Ogame, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, StarCraft and in particular after its namesake from the Command & Conquer series.{{cite web|author=metatags generator |url=http://www.airdemon.net/loic.html |title=Low Orbit Ion Cannon |date=2012-09-27 |access-date=2013-11-22 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927082809/http://www.airdemon.net/loic.html |archive-date=September 27, 2012 }} The artwork used in the application was a concept art for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

== In popular culture ==

The song "Low Orbit Ion Cannon" on Emperor X's 2017 album Oversleepers International directly references the software.

• Fork bomb
• High Orbit Ion Cannon
• LAND
• Ping of death
• ReDoS
• Zemra
• White Hat (computer security)

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://sourceforge.net/projects/ddos-ip-attack-stress-loic/ Original LOIC with professional GUI]
• [http://sourceforge.net/projects/loicslow/ LOIC Special Lowbandwidth Operating Weapon]
• [http://sourceforge.net/projects/lowc/ An improved version of LOWC forked from GoogleCode ]
• [http://sourceforge.net/projects/dloic-irc-0 LOIC IRC-0 IRC controlled version of LOIC-0]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [https://sourceforge.net/projects/ddos-ip-attack-stress-loic/ LOIC SLOW Now With IRC and Webpage as C&C]
• [http://sourceforge.net/projects/loic/ project development and downloads at SourceForge]
• [https://github.com/NewEraCracker/LOIC/ LOIC project development and downloads at GitHub]
• [https://code.google.com/p/lowc/ Web version of LOIC at Google Code]

Category:Internet-based activism

Category:Denial-of-service attacks

Category:Free software programmed in C Sharp

Category:Public-domain software with source code

Category:Anonymous (hacker group)

Category:Botnets