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Basecamp was under network attack

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Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#11

Post by larrys »

janlukacs wrote: post #4

Although a smaller service, we were in a similar situation a couple of years ago. We assumed it was a competitor because there were not monetary requests, just a massive DDoS via torrents that lasted almost a week. Data center didn't help us in any way... it was crazy. Worst thing is that 90% of customers have no clue what a DDoS is and how hard it is to handle.

"Worst thing is that 90% of customers have no clue what a DDoS is and how hard it is to handle."

Otoh that's where the opportunity is. The fact that "customers have no clue". People pay you for something that they can't do themselves or that you make easier for them to do.

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#12

Post by illuminated »

vidar wrote: post #3

Would CloudFlare help here?

Depends on the scale/power of attack. The latest hits (happening in the last few months) have been very large and I doubt CloudFlare would be able to successfully defend any of those while maintaining all of the current clients online. I have a client that occasionally gets this kind of blackmailing followed by attacks and they told me they use a US based company specialized in DDoS defending - until now the defense was pretty efficient. I've never bothered to ask for a name, but I guess it's a known one in the "network industry".

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#13

Post by rickyc091 »

rdudek wrote: post #2

Is it just me or are these attacks becomming more and more common? I hope we can get some more details on the attack like the origination of it, type used, and what steps were take to mitigate it. I always use information like this as a learning opportunity :)

Github provided some information on the attacks being performed.

https://github.com/blog/1796-denial-of-service-attacks

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#14

Post by alandarev »

rdudek wrote: post #2

Is it just me or are these attacks becomming more and more common? I hope we can get some more details on the attack like the origination of it, type used, and what steps were take to mitigate it. I always use information like this as a learning opportunity :)

When even the governments use DDoS [1] as a method to 'turn-off' services they don't like, it will be a very long path to fight.

[1] - https://www.quakenet.org/articles/102-press-release-irc-netw...

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#15

Post by [deleted] »

swanson wrote: post #5

Some great language there: framing it as an attack by criminals (gains sympathy from users), explains in plain-terms what a DDOS is (front door analogy), emphasizes (twice!) that user data is safe, apologizes for the likely downtime, informs people where to get updates. Probably worth bookmarking this for when you [hopefully never] have to deal with this same situation.

[deleted]

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#17

Post by larrys »

vidar wrote: post #3

Would CloudFlare help here?

"CloudFlare help"

I'll leave it to others to answer this (for this situation) but keep in mind also that adding cloudflare also adds an additional layer that can fail for different reasons.

That tradeoff may well be worth it for certain high visibility web properties but maybe not if you are a low value target.

There are pros and cons to any decision you make that depend on specific circumstances.

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#18

Post by Joona »

alandarev wrote: post #9
janlukacs wrote: post #4

Although a smaller service, we were in a similar situation a couple of years ago. We assumed it was a competitor because there were not monetary requests, just a massive DDoS via torrents that lasted almost a week. Data center didn't help us in any way... it was crazy. Worst thing is that 90% of customers have no clue what a DDoS is and how hard it is to handle.

How is torrents protocol used to DDoS you? I never came across torrents being used as a DDoS. I would appreciate more details on what sort of torrent attack it was, and whether you found any ways of partially neglecting damage.

tor·rent

noun

1. a strong and fast-moving stream of water or other liquid. "rain poured down in torrents"

2. a sudden, violent, and copious outpouring of (something, typically words or feelings). "she was subjected to a torrent of abuse"

Edit: Sorry, misread the post.

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#19

Post by apardes »

janlukacs wrote: post #4

Although a smaller service, we were in a similar situation a couple of years ago. We assumed it was a competitor because there were not monetary requests, just a massive DDoS via torrents that lasted almost a week. Data center didn't help us in any way... it was crazy. Worst thing is that 90% of customers have no clue what a DDoS is and how hard it is to handle.

I think that is what's great about how 37signals is handling this. I am sure a large portion of their client base is not technically inclined and having DDoS explained in plain english like they did gives those customers an understanding of what is happening.

Re: Basecamp was under network attack

#20

Post by timdorr »

vidar wrote: post #3

Would CloudFlare help here?

It depends if this attack is on basecamp.com or the IPs that basecamp.com resolves to.

It appears Basecamp only has a /23, so even if they redirected traffic through Cloudflare, the attacker could still find their direct servers fairly easily and attack that IP. It's still possible to block, but not quite as easy as setting up Cloudflare.

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