Cats like knocking stuff off tables.
New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
91–100 of 544 posts
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#92Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.
I think this is a little simplistic. Depending on what data is being deleted, it may have real life economic consequences for individual people. What if one of the databases has a record of credits you've purchased at your local spin studio? Hopefully they have a back up, but if they don't, you and/or the owners stand to make significant losses. Are there databases that could be lost without consequence except to the…
Like, how does the local mom and pop correctly evaluate a person's IT chops?
Usually by price and unfortunately both mom and pop like a bargain - I've seen this play out more times than I would like.
Also how do you evaluate, say, a landscaper's chops? Or any other kind of contractor's for that matter? By doing research beforehand, checking what kind of reputation that person has etc.
Low-effort or lack of research gives you bad services, for which you pay in losses like these.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah. I don't care if some big business loses their Elasticsearch data and their site stops working until they get it secured and re-hydrated with data from their relational database. Good, they learned a lesson. But I would feel bad if someone's small business had to shut down or lose a bunch of money because they lost all their customer data. I'd feel bad if someone lost all the data they'd been using for a persona…
I’d feel bad if someone’s hobby project was deleted. Small businesses losing customer data is only slightly more sympathetic than people getting sick because they didn’t think the health code applied to them. If you collect it, you need to be responsible for keeping it safe. Anything affected by this is already exposed and has to be assumed to have been breached.
What if it was a small business's inventory data rather than customer data?
Seems to me, there are a lot of things businesses could store in a database which don't necessarily need to be private, or which at worst won't harm anyone other than the database creator if exposed.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah. I don't care if some big business loses their Elasticsearch data and their site stops working until they get it secured and re-hydrated with data from their relational database. Good, they learned a lesson. But I would feel bad if someone's small business had to shut down or lose a bunch of money because they lost all their customer data. I'd feel bad if someone lost all the data they'd been using for a persona…
> But I would feel bad if someone's small business had to shut down or lose a bunch of money because they lost all their customer data. Don't. When businesses of any size cut corners and provide services they aren't qualified to provide, it gives them an advantage compared to businesses that try to do it properly. They make more money or charge less and can often out compete competent owners. They'll also be the firs…
Seems like a lost opportunity to have a more nuanced position here. And when you can't think of a single case that could make you feel bad for someone, it's usually a sign that you don't have one.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is a little simplistic. Depending on what data is being deleted, it may have real life economic consequences for individual people. What if one of the databases has a record of credits you've purchased at your local spin studio? Hopefully they have a back up, but if they don't, you and/or the owners stand to make significant losses. Are there databases that could be lost without consequence except to the…
I don't find your example very convincing. Any database storing personal data needs to be properly secured, and if that gym also has ID credit card or other more sensitive data, that data might better be destroyed than stolen. If it's a publicly accessible wiki with no sensitive data whatsoever, and that's meant to be publicly accessible, then there's a reasonable excuse for the poor security and it's not helping any…
There is no indication in this article that all of the databases had personal data.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can definitely have real world consequences, but couldn't the same be said for somebody being a whistleblower for a company that doesn't following building codes? The company could take a huge financial hit and people might lose their jobs because of their practices being exposed.
Sometimes the best path forward does harm, sure. It's just hard for me to agree that deleting these databases is the harm-minimizing path. One example of a less harmful path that comes to mind immediately is installing a random password on the unsecured database and emailing the domain owner the password. That would cause downtime but it would limit the irreversible damage. You could even say that you will delete the…
What you propose is illegal in most 1st/2nd world countries. In mine, the company could thank you and then put you straight to jail for 30 years.
Unfortunately very few small businesses run sade reporting programs and often react with attack.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#97Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.
Would you feel the same way if someone burned your house down if you left the door unlocked? Would you support the idea of people walking through a neighborhood and checking every door in a similar way? Does your opinion change if it happened in a business district?
I think it is fine to argue that doors should be locked but that doesn't mean that a crime hasn't been committed when someone takes advantage of a situation.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#98Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.
I think this is a little simplistic. Depending on what data is being deleted, it may have real life economic consequences for individual people. What if one of the databases has a record of credits you've purchased at your local spin studio? Hopefully they have a back up, but if they don't, you and/or the owners stand to make significant losses. Are there databases that could be lost without consequence except to the…
Just because it's understandable for Mom & Pop to not care about the privacy of the people whose data they've collected doesn't make it a good idea. They should care. If the buck doesn't stop with business owners, with whom does it stop?
IMO we specialize too much and miss important things that we mentally outsource to other people. I'm equally disturbed how often I meet people in tech who are unable to do basic home repairs or cook for themselves. Something, like say, a few weeks of quarantine, and people's anxiety goes through the roof because they've relied on other people for basic life skills.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#99Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.
I think this is a little simplistic. Depending on what data is being deleted, it may have real life economic consequences for individual people. What if one of the databases has a record of credits you've purchased at your local spin studio? Hopefully they have a back up, but if they don't, you and/or the owners stand to make significant losses. Are there databases that could be lost without consequence except to the…
I am thinking more about the clients of the mom and pop shop who are better off not having their personal details exposed.
Re: New ‘Meow’ attack has deleted almost 4k unsecured databases
#100Somehow I feel good about this. The article claims nothing good can come of deleting exposed databases, but I strongly disagree - I'd by far rather my data be deleted than stolen and shared. If the owner doesn't have proper backups AND can't secure a database, they have no business hosting such data, period. IMHO.
I think this is a little simplistic. Depending on what data is being deleted, it may have real life economic consequences for individual people. What if one of the databases has a record of credits you've purchased at your local spin studio? Hopefully they have a back up, but if they don't, you and/or the owners stand to make significant losses. Are there databases that could be lost without consequence except to the…
The possibility of someone stealing your identity (or worse) far outweighs the damages from losing some coupons.
Deleting exposed databases is genious, there need to be real repercussions for companies if they leak user data.