Re: DDOS attack Microsoft

From: Sinister Midget (sm_at_kcsmartNOSPAM.org)
Date: 09/07/03 

Date: Sun, 07 Sep 2003 15:08:11 GMT

As Colin Wilson so eloquently gibbered on Sun, 07 Sep 2003 at 11:48 GMT:

>> I am looking for some info regarding the Distributed Denial Of Service
>> (DDOS) attack on Microsoft.
>> It is said Microsoft switched to Akamai servers to ward off the attack.
>> Does anyone know how that is supposed to help?
>
> I`m probably wrong here, but from my understanding, the DDOS was aimed at
> a specific web address - by re-routing traffic via an alternative way,
> the attempted DDOS failed because it was only trying to attack the
> original site.

The way MICROS~1 explained it (meaning it's probably a lie), the
address being attacked wasn't the real address. It was an oft-used
address that they automatically forwarded to the real one. They simply
stopped the forwarding.

The trick of hiding behind linux servers was for a later attack. That
was "coincidence"(tm) because it was someone they simply contracted
with, without making any effort to check what they were running.

That's how you make billions in big business: by not checking
everything you're about to do and the background on those you're about
to do it with.

> Nice to note that it was linux based servers that saved M$ though ;-)

Now they're running on "unknown". Bet it's still linux or*BSD:

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph/?host=microsoft.com

Here's a link to their information regarding what happened and when
(date posted at the bottom):

http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2003/08/17/wwwmicrosoftcom_runs_linux_up_to_a_point_.html

At the time, netcraft was showing IIS running on linux hosted by Akamai.
That changed a day or two later, when MICROS~1 was humiliated by it. 

-- 
I love the way Microsoft follows standards. In much the same manner
that fish follow migrating caribou.

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