MasterCard Hit By WikiLeaks Payback Attacks 715
An anonymous reader writes "MasterCard's website has been hit by a distributed denial of service attack. Netcraft describes how the attack uses a voluntary botnet of LOIC (low orbit ion cannon) users to swamp sites with traffic. PostFinance, the PayPal blog and Swedish prosecutors have been targeted previously."
Wikileaks Vs Sites of Ill Repute (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Stupid action (Score:3, Interesting)
And they both have been exposed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/246424 [guardian.co.uk]
Re:Whatever... (Score:5, Interesting)
Operation Payback hit ACS Law a second time, knocking out the site. In the process of bringing it back up, someone exposed the server's directory structure through the Web instead of showing the website itself. Those conducting Operation Payback immediately moved in and grabbed a 350MB archive of ACS Law e-mails, then threw the entire mass up on sites like The Pirate Bay. This is more than a matter of mere embarrassment. The UK has tougher data protection laws than the US, and the country's Information Commissioner has already made it clear that ACS Law could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of pounds. That's because, in addition to his iTunes receipts ("Hooray for iPads. I love mine," Crossley says at one point) and Amazon purchase orders, the e-mails include numerous attachments filled with all manner of private information: names, addresses, payment details, passwords, revenue splits, business deals.
Re:Stupid action (Score:5, Interesting)
"Act like fucking adolescents?"
This is the modern equivalent of a lunch counter sit-in. [wikipedia.org] No user has had their computer hijacked, they are all participating of their free will. Are they "disrupting business"? Perhaps, but no worse than the lunch counter sit-ins did.
Re:Stupid action (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Stupid action (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Stupid action (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:voluntary DDOS botnet... (Score:3, Interesting)
Comcast is blocking access to wikileaks (Score:2, Interesting)
Comcast is blocking access to any websites reporting wikileaks related stories.
This is exactly what I would suspect they would do.
What can you expect from a big corporate interest?
and banks may get to be the next target of w.leaks (Score:3, Interesting)
WikiLeaks Founder Says Next Target Is Major US Bank [aolnews.com]
"Early next year, WikiLeaks will publish tens of thousands of internal documents from a major U.S. bank, exposing the institution's rampant corruption and unethical practices and executives' brazen self-interest, Assange said in an interview with Forbes magazine. [forbes.com]"
Re:Wikileaks Vs Sites of Ill Repute (Score:5, Interesting)
since Wikileaks next target seems to be a major bank
That's the one I'm waiting for. I don't give two shits about the majority of these gossipy cables.
Re:Stupid action (Score:3, Interesting)
Wikileaks had credibility, back when they were a whistleblowing site and not a media corp.
Re:Visa and MC have no problem being associated... (Score:4, Interesting)
If they're now blocking transactions which the government doesn't require them to and that they have good reason to believe the cardholder consented to, that's got to open up all sorts of liability over their connection with cybercriminals.
Re:Stupid action (Score:5, Interesting)
Consumer action is another tactic. Here's the letter I sent my bank:
Dear Smile.co.uk,
One of the reasons I am a customer of Smile Banking is your commitment to ethical banking.
I do not believe that Visa's recent decision to block payments to Wikileaks is consistent with that ethical stance.
I understand that due to Visa's near-monopoly on card payments and online payments, it is not really practical for either Smile Banking or myself personally to discontinue our use of Visa debit card facilities. However I would like to send a message to Visa that this decision has weakened, not strengthened, their brand reputation to me and, I would assume, others.
To this end:
1. Please would you forward this message to Smile Banking's board of directors
2. Please would Smile Banking collate any similar messages of disapproval regarding Visa's actions from other Smile customers, should they be received, and communicate the aggregate message to Visa
3. Please, so that I can modify my behaviour where possible, would you advise me to what extent the following activities result in income to Visa
a: A debit card payment where I the cardholder am present
b: A cash withdrawal at a high street ATM
c: An online/telephone debit card payment
Many thanks,
Re:Stupid action (Score:4, Interesting)
DDoS != modern sit-in
Voluntary Botnet == modern sit-in
See the difference?
Where does this leave a DDoS implemented using a voluntary botnet?
Re:How is Wikileaks engaging in "free speech?" (Score:2, Interesting)
And you're not a programmer without being a member of.... well actually you just have to know how to program.
And you're not a grave digger unless you... well just digging some graves makes you a grave digger.
And you're not a translator unless you're a member of..... actually just being fluent in multiple languages can qualify you as a translator.
And you're not a musician unless you're a member of... well being able to play a musical instrument and being called a musician pretty much qualifies you to claim that title.
Anyone who breaks news stories, anyone who does the job of a journalist is a journalist particularly if they do it well and wikileaks have been doing it very well.
the Internet's ability to allow people to self-publish via web sites is not a flaw.
it is one of it's best attributes.
and you absolutely can turn up somewhere, claim the title of a journalist and if they want to they might let you in.
A bunch of my friends printed themselves off a loads of "[their blog name] news team" t-shirts and when they went out drinking and got into clubs free because club owners wanted to get free advertising.
To be fair they did post pictures of their nights at the clubs.
fantastic idea though.
you could start publishing your own little newsletter and try turning up up to things and asking to be let in as a reporter for your own newspaper.
They don't have to let you in, they might not but you have every right to try.