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Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

newsblur.com

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Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#2
10:35p ET: Looks like the snapshot will take 10 hours to make. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem becuase the service is running and a snapshot would be made on a secondary DB. But all of the Mongo DBs faithfully deleted their data, so I'm taking a snapshot of a recent good backup. Once done, I can replicare the DB and we'll be back.

9:54p ET: Holy moly, when I switched to a new Mongo DB server, a hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s mongo data and is now holding NewsBlur’s data hostage. I’m dipping into a backup from a few hours ago and will keep you all updated.

They've also given some info on twitter https://twitter.com/NewsBlur that I haven't digested yet.

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#4
These are crimes. Where is law enforcement? I am not sure why the public still gives them a pass and treats computer crimes differently.

With the resources of the federal government, it shouldn't be hard to find and take down the criminals. Think of how easily the criminals exploit their victims - it is just as hard for the criminals to play defense as it is for everyone else.

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#6
post #2

10:35p ET: Looks like the snapshot will take 10 hours to make. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem becuase the service is running and a snapshot would be made on a secondary DB. But all of the Mongo DBs faithfully deleted their data, so I'm taking a snapshot of a recent good backup. Once done, I can replicare the DB and we'll be back. 9:54p ET: Holy moly, when I switched to a new Mongo DB server, a hacker deleted a…

Sorry to hear this, jepler - please let me know if there's anything I can do to assist (MongoDB emp. in unofficial capacity). Email in profile

Update: emailed Samuel directly

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#7

These are crimes. Where is law enforcement? I am not sure why the public still gives them a pass and treats computer crimes differently. With the resources of the federal government, it shouldn't be hard to find and take down the criminals. Think of how easily the criminals exploit their victims - it is just as hard for the criminals to play defense as it is for everyone else.

difficult or impossible to locate, then catch.

don't know the first thing about how to even collect evidence to aid in prosecution.

don't know what crime has happened.

no one died.

probably from another country and "that ain't my jurisdiction"

lazy

etc.

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#8

These are crimes. Where is law enforcement? I am not sure why the public still gives them a pass and treats computer crimes differently. With the resources of the federal government, it shouldn't be hard to find and take down the criminals. Think of how easily the criminals exploit their victims - it is just as hard for the criminals to play defense as it is for everyone else.

We know generally where they are, because there are only a few countries that turn a blind eye like this and totally refuse to cooperate internationally. Anything outside their home country's jurisdiction is fair game. Ransomware can be a real boost to a local economy.

https://sec.okta.com/articles/2020/08/crimeops-operational-a...

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#9
post #6
post #2

10:35p ET: Looks like the snapshot will take 10 hours to make. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem becuase the service is running and a snapshot would be made on a secondary DB. But all of the Mongo DBs faithfully deleted their data, so I'm taking a snapshot of a recent good backup. Once done, I can replicare the DB and we'll be back. 9:54p ET: Holy moly, when I switched to a new Mongo DB server, a hacker deleted a…

Sorry to hear this, jepler - please let me know if there's anything I can do to assist (MongoDB emp. in unofficial capacity). Email in profile Update: emailed Samuel directly

jepler isn't the Newsblur guy.

Re: Hacker deleted all of NewsBlur’s Mongo data and is now holding the data hostage

#10

These are crimes. Where is law enforcement? I am not sure why the public still gives them a pass and treats computer crimes differently. With the resources of the federal government, it shouldn't be hard to find and take down the criminals. Think of how easily the criminals exploit their victims - it is just as hard for the criminals to play defense as it is for everyone else.

> These are crimes. Where is law enforcement?

No money so no incentive.

Notice, however, when an "oil pipeline" had their billing software hacked everybody went apeshit.

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