GRRRRRRRRR . . . .
If you are reading this post, we thank you for your loyalty!
Since last week, our internet platform, the usually very reliable Typepad, owned by SAY Media, has been subjected to a “distributed denial-of-service attack.”
A DDOS attack is intended to make a network resource unavailable to intended users. A coordinated effort is made to overwhelm the webservers – as if everyone sitting around the dinner table conspired to reach with their forks for the steak at the same moment.
As bloggers, we find the resulting chaos here and under these circumstances to be enormously frustrating and unfair. A DDOS attack allows a small number of persons to disrupt the free speech of thousands, perhaps millions, of writers and readers.
DDOS attacks have sometimes been compared to “virtual sit-ins” or “Internet Street Protests” – especially when they invade a politicized target, be it the New York Stock Exchange, or a despised bank.
But why attack Typepad, of all targets? Attacking Typepad, which is a vehicle for free speech that reaches millions, is impossible for us to see as any legitimate political protest. Do the attackers simply want to shakedown SAY Media for ransom?
Individual bloggers are powerless to do anything about such an attack, because a DDOS attack reveals a systemic problem with the use and abuse of internet resources – a problem that simply cannot be solved at the individual level.
We hope that SAY Media will invest significant resources to develop security measures that make such attacks less disruptive in the future. Such an investment is essential to preserve the extraordinary value that Typepad provides to its owners, to its customers, and to the readers of blogs hosted by Typepad.
BLOG BONUS: Wikipedia defines a DOS or DDOS attack as follows:
“In computing, a denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of efforts to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet. As clarification, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are sent by two or more persons, or bots. (See botnet) DoS (Denial of Service) attacks are sent by one person or system.”
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