Yesterday, as many as 10 million personal blogs on LiveJournal and TypePad were taken offline for several hours due to a massive denial-of-service attack.
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Source: SecurityLabs |
The attack began around 4 PM yesterday (PDT), targeting two of the most popular blogging services along with the website of their provider, Six Apart. According to Six Apart’s Vice President, Anil Dash, services returned to normal after midnight.
“Any major service is frequently targeted, but the scale of this attack was something I bet no one expected,” he stated.
Six Apart plans to report the incident to authorities such as the FBI, but so far, they have not taken that step. “We haven’t had time to think about our next move,” Dash added. At this time, the company’s efforts are focused on addressing the consequences of the attack.
There is something unusual about this DDoS attack, as Six Apart is not a large online business—typically the preferred and frequent target of large-scale attacks.
Previously, Six Apart had faced attacks, but these were isolated incidents targeting specific content posted by some affiliated blogs.
Six Apart also intends to compensate users, although the specific method has yet to be determined.
Last year, when encountering some service disruptions, the company allowed customers to decide how they wanted to receive compensation. “We will do everything for our customers,” Dash remarked.
Tien Yi
