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Internet FBI Hunts for Comcast Hackers
Tom Corelis (Blog) - May 31, 2008 9:23 AM
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Defiant of Kryogeniks: We Warned Comcast First

Kryogeniks’ Defiant and EBK say it’s only a matter of time before the FBI catches up with them, speaking to Wired Threat Level in a Thursday phone interview.

The FBI is working hard to make good on the duo’s fears, and announced a joint investigation with the San Jose police department on Friday, to try and track down the culprits responsible for a Wednesday attack against Comcast’s subscriber portal.

Both Defiant and EBK are members of the hacking group Kryogeniks, who in the past was implicated in attacks against AOL and a number of celebrities. The duo said that their attack against Comcast began Tuesday, when they employed a combination of social engineering and an exploit in Network Solutions’ control panel to gain access to Comcast’s domain settings.

The pair said they made minor changes to Comcast’s DNS records before full Wednesday attack, which Comcast quickly reverted. When they attempted to reach Comcast’s technical contact afterwards, they described being told off and then hung up on.

“If he wasn't such a prick, he could have avoided all of that,” said EBK. “I wasn't even really thinking. Plus, I'm just so mad at Comcast. I'm tired of their shitty service. Comcast is just a huge corporation, and we wanted to take them out, and we did,” he said.

Defiant says that he was reluctant to attack Comcast, but once the hack was done, “it was, like, **** it.”

Wired notes that the pair stayed up all night opening new webhosting accounts in order to accommodate the massive influx of Comcast subscribers attempting to visit the portal. In the end, said EBK, it took over 50 different hosts to keep the defacement running.

“You know how hard it is to find hosting handling that kind of traffic?” asked EBK. “The first one [went down] in two minutes.”

Both hackers described getting little sleep Wednesday night, as the attack started at 11:00 P.M. and lasted until approximately 4 or 5 A.M.

Despite the duo’s expectation of impending doom, thus far the FBI has announced no arrests.

“I wish I was a minor right now,” said the 19-year-old Defiant, “because this is going to be really bad.”

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Overreacting
By niks on 5/31/2008 11:44:52 AM , Rating: 5
The 'victims' lost email access for one night, they didn't even lose any emails. Everybody's email goes down every now and then.

What they did was pretty stupid, but the way they did it was very clever. Plus, they didn't destroy anything or take any personal information, just created an inconvenience. I say, let's get more people to screw with Comcast. They have screwed with their customers, let's turn the tables.




RE: Overreacting
By B3an on 5/31/2008 12:47:20 PM , Rating: 3
I agree.

Whats with all the corporate ass licking on here? it was just a little inconvenience to customers, and Comcast deserved it.


RE: Overreacting
By B3an on 5/31/2008 12:47:37 PM , Rating: 1
I agree.

Whats with all the corporate ass licking on here? it was just a little inconvenience to customers, and Comcast deserved it.


RE: Overreacting
By Kwai Noi on 5/31/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overreacting
By enlil242 on 5/31/2008 1:19:02 PM , Rating: 5
I pretty much agree with what you stated in all but the last sentance. That was just a jerkoff thing to say and its offensive. Name one instance where a non-white hacker got a harsher sentance than a white one? Think before you post that sh1t...


RE: Overreacting
By daftrok on 5/31/2008 2:47:24 PM , Rating: 4
Following your logic if the FBI is after them then they can't possibly be rich and/or white. Right? Cuz the FBI only goes after darkies?


RE: Overreacting
By Cobra Commander on 5/31/2008 7:23:22 PM , Rating: 3
You underestimate The Empire if you think Comcast isn't going to come full strength at these guys.


RE: Overreacting
By larson0699 on 6/1/2008 1:40:50 AM , Rating: 1
I hope you're not serious here.

This is an example of idiocy in the world: If A, then certainly B. Hint: Don't follow his logic. He'll get the nod for the 0day after some prison time and fines; you'll get pissed on by everyone whose coffee you poisoned, whose oh-so-lovely Best Buy shopping experience you ruined (hey, they're still customers) and whose tires you deflated. I'd pay to see you try.

You cannot possibly, logically take one guy's apples and make oranges of them. Now please, you've wasted 987 bytes on this server already. Any more of your fallacies and you will surely DoS DT (A) which is certainly not Comcast (B).

For the record, they (to be read "any oversized, oversupported, unjustified, and unfair large corporation") deserve what they get (though in the end no lessons are learned). No sympathy for ISP email users. Get real.

Nothing hurts worse than losing business, and even there someone's gotta set the precedent. In the advent of the wireless age (or whatever's beyond cable) few will remain overpaying. They won't last forever.


RE: Overreacting
By artemicion on 6/1/2008 11:50:37 PM , Rating: 1
Good grief, is it just me, or is everybody else having a difficult time making sense of this gibberish?

It's just phenomenally amazing to me that so many people cheer for this kind of juvenile stuff. I mean, I hate Comcast too, but what's the point of this attack? To piss off the end users into switching ISPs? Which kind of runs against the assertion that "oh they just lost email access for a little while, it's not a big deal."

And boy, call me a prude but I think there is some serious public policy problems with just being "ok" with people putting justice in their own hands by attacking large corporations that piss them off. I mean, someone tell me - what makes it ok? Because Comcast is a "large" corporation? - exactly how "big" does a corporation have to be to justify vigilante justice? Because Comcast pisses people off? - because NYC cab drivers piss me off, what can I do to them? Because the attack was of little consequence? I suppose it's YOU we should consult to judge whether any given attack is significant enough to prosecute. You know, let's just ignore the standards set by law by our democratically elected legislators. Then again all you counter-culture pro-hacker types would probably accuse those legislators of being elected by "the man" that runs Comcast, so maybe we should just march on Washington and revolt.


RE: Overreacting
By mikeyD95125 on 6/2/2008 12:23:35 AM , Rating: 3
Maybe not revolt but we should do something. I'm fucking sick of the legislators whose job it is to represent us instead representing their own or corporate interests.

When I hear of a legislator or senator dying and I look at their record and see it full of lobbyists and self-serving actions, its good-riddance to me.


RE: Overreacting
By Reclaimer77 on 6/2/2008 1:34:37 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
When I hear of a legislator or senator dying and I look at their record and see it full of lobbyists and self-serving actions, its good-riddance to me.


Ditto.

I hear Ted Kennedy ain't doing so hot these days. One can only hope....


RE: Overreacting
By larson0699 on 6/3/2008 3:50:25 AM , Rating: 1
... I know I'm going negative with this one, but not without some merit.

How the fuck does it hurt you? Are you a subscriber? A stockholder? An employee or some kind of fucking advocate? Isn't it more palatable to screw with big business than some group of private citizens? WTF do you honestly get out of it if some bullish monopoly (in many areas) gets a nice stream of D/DoS's... I thought so. NOTHING. Your world spins just as backwards as theirs.

Vigilante bullsh.... Get off the stage. Don't dumbly ask the thresholds of the big players versus small; those lines are well defined. Greedy telecoms don't deserve the support they get. It's unfortunate that so many are either pressed or ill-informed to rely on them, but then there's just a sucker for everything. I wouldn't have to be the one to get loud and start vandalizing, but knowing that that takes place doesn't ruin my day, either.

Don't even try to bring the law, either. Even when our security is compromised at an alarming level they hardly do jack about it.

But since you give me your vote of confidence in judging matters, I'll gladly take it!

Tool.


RE: Overreacting
By Kenenniah on 6/4/2008 6:41:36 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Isn't it more palatable to screw with big business than some group of private citizens?


What do you think a corporation is? (Hint, it's a group of private citizens). Yes you are screwing with a "Big Business", but that business is made up of thousands of normal everyday people just trying to earn a living. Not to mention all the normal people that are shareholders of corporations. If everyone that is so down on "Big Business" had their way, what position do you think the average Joe would be in? Hmm, if all our greedy evil big corporations were to die, EVERYONE would be in a very very bad state economically. Let's face it, companies trying to make money are precisely what drives our economy.

So to bottom line it for you....it most certainly does affect other people. Don't be so narrow mindedly focusing on the "evilness" that you forget these corporations are also relied upon by many who are just making an honest living.


RE: Overreacting
By cparka23 on 5/31/2008 1:20:48 PM , Rating: 1
The "victims" didn't even lose email access. They lost webmail access. These kids should just come clean, then get a slap on the wrist.

Sure, people who aren't great with computers would probably go with webmail, but this apparently didn't affect anyone using an email client. And since this was between 11PM and 5AM, this probably affected fewer subscribers than what they could have done.

And yes, Comcast does suck. I don't think anyone is disputing that here... minus the one commentor who hasn't had a problem yet.


RE: Overreacting
By chrisg22 on 5/31/2008 5:36:20 PM , Rating: 3
I have comcast, and I DID lose email access. I could check my mail in outlook, but guess what? whenever anyone tried to send any mail to me they get a returned mail error with the error described as a DNS problem.

So, you are wrong. I lost email access from a 6:00am until at least 11:00pm when I went to bed. 11:00pm to 5:00am? haha yeah right.


RE: Overreacting
By rhuarch on 6/2/2008 11:17:56 AM , Rating: 2
Well, if your email problem didn't occur within the timeframe of the attack then it is probably just another example of how much Comcast sucks. It sounds to me like these kids could just say, "we're not even sure our hack was successful because comcast goes down so often we can't be sure that it wasn't just a coincidence."


RE: Overreacting
By Nik00117 on 6/2/2008 3:44:23 PM , Rating: 3
That'd be a funny difference

Judge: Did your clients hack aganist comast do any damage?
Lawyer: Prob not, I mean comcast service is down so much anyhow how should we know if it was our fault or theres
Judge: So your saying that this could just be condience that two skript kiddies started up right as the e-mail went down?
Lawyer: yes
Judge: Ok case dissmissed


RE: Overreacting
By Reclaimer77 on 5/31/2008 7:16:59 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Sure, people who aren't great with computers would probably go with webmail,


I am " great " with computers, which is exactly why I ONLY use webmail. Why download a bunch of potentially malicious e-mails into my machine when I can just browse all my mail though the safety of my web browser ?


RE: Overreacting
By lexluthermiester on 5/31/2008 8:47:34 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
I am " great " with computers


LOL, sure you are...

quote:
which is exactly why I ONLY use webmail. Why download a bunch of potentially malicious e-mails into my machine when I can just browse all my mail though the safety of my web browser ?


Ya know Reclaimer77, you have made some bonehead posts, but here like a crack of thunder out of the clear blue, you post something that is lucid and logical. What the frak? Get a flash of inspiration? Of course, if you say you use IE as your web browser it will suddenly make sense...


RE: Overreacting
By Frallan on 6/1/2008 5:20:47 AM , Rating: 2
Reclaimer77 is just another account for Maddogs44...

THey spew the same nonsense and declare knowin it all. I might not always agre with some ppl here but most of them have a logic to what they say and some basic grasp of how the world works - these two has not.

Thank U for writing my thoughts exactly LoL

/F


RE: Overreacting
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 5:19:55 AM , Rating: 2
You must be joking. Inability to even use an email client safely is a sign of greatness? A few years from now you will look back and realize how foolish you were, if you are lucky.


RE: Overreacting
By Reclaimer77 on 6/1/2008 10:57:35 AM , Rating: 2
If you notice I used quotes around the word great to indicate it was not my wording at all. I was quoting someone else's terminology. I don't actually think I'm " great " with PC's.

I do however believe I am safer viewing my webmail through Firefox then using a mail client. Did I say there was no safe way to use a mail client ? Uhh nope.

I wasn't aware saying that would be so controversial. Sheesh guys, honestly.


RE: Overreacting
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 11:54:41 PM , Rating: 2
By strict analysis, the issue is your faith being placed in the online mail provider being able to effectively filter out what you don't want to access, yet not filter out what you do.

That is a crucial point because in the end a browser has MORE funcitonality than an email client (comparing apples:apples), it is inherantly less secure unless only considering an email client that has close ties to the browser we all know is constantly exploited, OE/Outlook via IE.

What is "safer"? I haven't been infected with anything from an email in many years and this includes some accounts for a publically visable business which gets tons of spam and viri sent - and stopped effectively even before it reached an email client that couldn't launch it anyway.

Security is ultimately not about placing faith in others but actively taking steps to control the environment you're in.


RE: Overreacting
By cmdrdredd on 5/31/2008 6:47:47 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, comcast sucks, AT&T sucks but there's nothing I can do. That's the only options I have in my area for internet access if I don't want lame dial-up. So I deal with Comcast's crap. I wish Verizon would be able to gobble up more cities to use for FiOS service which from what I've heard is stellar in both speed and uptime. Not to mention support.


RE: Overreacting
By Chaser on 5/31/2008 7:31:27 PM , Rating: 2
According to the prior DT article on this they were also able to make changes to Comcast's DNS tables which apparently directed some customers to some "interesting" sites.


RE: Overreacting
By Icelight on 6/3/2008 9:15:11 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
What they did was pretty stupid, but the way they did it was very clever.


So DNS poisoning is now considered "clever"? What's next, AIM Bombing declared best "hack" of 2009?


immediate corrective action required
By continuallyamazed on 5/31/2008 11:00:32 AM , Rating: 2
Sure Comcast is a corporation of pricks, but the victims were their customers. Federal prison will probably not be a picnic, lots of violence and homosexuality there I hear.




RE: immediate corrective action required
By ArcWiz on 5/31/2008 11:33:06 AM , Rating: 3
Nowhere near as drastic - there are plenty of minimum security "white collar" federal prisons... they are basically like a camp of sorts... we have a handful near where I live, plus a maximum security federal prison down the road about 40 miles... that is where the hardcore prisoners go... actually its been documented a couple of times on HBO.


RE: immediate corrective action required
By Reclaimer77 on 5/31/2008 12:12:57 PM , Rating: 2
Federal prison for this ? Come on. You don't get that for murder there days.

I see good signs from this interview. They know they screwed up. They show remorse. They are afraid. They might even come forward and turn themselves in. I'm not excusing what they did, but they seem to understand they did the wrong thing, even if they thought it was the right reasons. Thats a big difference from some hardened criminal who's bound to repeat. Do these kids even have a prior criminal record ? Probably not.

Two weeks in the local jail or 6 months community service. At BEST.


RE: immediate corrective action required
By MrPieGuy on 5/31/2008 1:53:19 PM , Rating: 1
Those guys get caught screwing Comcast, they're not going to white-collar resort prison. No, no, no. They're going to federal pound me in the ass prison


By lexluthermiester on 5/31/2008 8:39:04 PM , Rating: 2
Nice quote from "Office Space"... And no, even IF they are caught, they will be spending a bit of time in jail, not prison.


RE: immediate corrective action required
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 5:38:34 AM , Rating: 2
Don't you see the flaw in that argument? If all one had to do was genuflect to get two weeks in jail for what others got years and huge fines for, it would effectively neuter our whole justice system.

They don't understand they did the wrong thing, they deliberated about it and did it anyway, now they realize they're likely to get caught and just want to save their asses - the same as anybody else would including the so-called "hardened criminal". So instead of having balls and accepting reponsiblity in more than just words, they are ingenuine.

I'm not saying the crime deserves a harsh punishment, but i am saying justice has to be applied equally.

Does doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and then being sorry later also apply to situations like some drunk kid driving his friend home after a party because the friend was even drunker, then being sorry he ran the median and killed someone?

How does some person become this "hardened criminal" you write about? Wouldn't it be because they received the normal sentence instead of being slapped on the wrist? This isn't the first time the group has been hacking sites, are they somehow less needing of punishment because they merely hadn't been caught yet? Do you realize how ridiculous your argument is?

So what is difference about these kids? They only reason they are not to be hardened is because YOU feel what they did was ok? What about other crimes that aren't extremely offensive but cause people to go to prison for a few years? Are we supposed to discriminately apply the law or do so uniformly according to the crime?

Give them the same punishment as everyone else. Change the law if you think it's wrong.


RE: immediate corrective action required
By bodar on 6/1/2008 10:32:40 AM , Rating: 2
Judges can give the minimum sentence if they so choose, and judges like things like remorse and turning oneself in. Hell, if they live in LA, they'll be let out in a few hours like celebs who DUI the wrong way down freeways.


By mindless1 on 6/2/2008 12:00:51 AM , Rating: 2
Judges also tend to be able to see through someone being remorseful and turning themselves in only after it seemed inevitable that they'd be caught.

Remember, this is not the first time the group hacked websites and who knows what else. Did they come forward and show remorse at any other time, hack, to face the punishment when they didn't think it was likely they'd be caught?

If you think people in LA are all let out in a few hours you are sadly mistaken. There is a continual line of people waiting to be processed 24/7. The difference with the celebs is great lawyers.


By Reclaimer77 on 6/1/2008 10:51:38 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Don't you see the flaw in that argument? If all one had to do was genuflect to get two weeks in jail for what others got years and huge fines for, it would effectively neuter our whole justice system.


You seem to be under a false premise that similar crimes are judged similar. I rarely see the standard sentence being handed out across the board from case to case.

quote:
They don't understand they did the wrong thing, they deliberated about it and did it anyway, now they realize they're likely to get caught and just want to save their asses - the same as anybody else would including the so-called "hardened criminal". So instead of having balls and accepting reponsiblity in more than just words, they are ingenuine.


I don't think your qualified to determine if they are being genuine or not. Lots of hackers have done much worse that this. I don't remember any of them doing interviews where they indicate they are aware it was wrong and know they will be punished for it.

quote:
Does doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and then being sorry later also apply to situations like some drunk kid driving his friend home after a party because the friend was even drunker, then being sorry he ran the median and killed someone?


Well I guess it wouldn't be a Daily Tech argument if someone didn't bring up an extreme murder analogy argument when discussing a minor inconvenience.

quote:
I'm not saying the crime deserves a harsh punishment, but i am saying justice has to be applied equally.


All I was saying was they didn't deserve a harsh punishment. So why are you arguing with me ? I'll tell you what, show me that there has ever been an " equal " punishment for hacking across the board and I will concede. If you can't see that the justice system goes by a case by case basis, not strictly the crime, then your wasting my time.

quote:
How does some person become this "hardened criminal" you write about? Wouldn't it be because they received the normal sentence instead of being slapped on the wrist? This isn't the first time the group has been hacking sites, are they somehow less needing of punishment because they merely hadn't been caught yet? Do you realize how ridiculous your argument is?


Maybe the are psycho ? Maybe they are f-ed in the head ? Maybe they have emotional problems ? Who knows. While I believe in strong consequences to crimes, your a fool to believe punishment can rehabilitate everyone.

quote:
So what is difference about these kids? They only reason they are not to be hardened is because YOU feel what they did was ok?


Now your just putting words in my mouth. Just because I don't think they should be burned at the stake doesn't mean I think what they did was " ok ". " Federal pound me in the ass prison " as another poster said ain't gonna happen for these kids. And it shouldn't.

quote:
Give them the same punishment as everyone else. Change the law if you think it's wrong.


Again, the false premise, " everyone " does not get the same punishment across the board. If they did, there would be no such thing as plea bargains or making a deal to the DA to lighten the sentencing.

I think you watched Judge Dread one too many times.


Overreacting?
By SNJGuy on 5/31/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overreacting?
By dijuremo on 5/31/2008 4:24:36 PM , Rating: 2
Since you work for COMCRAP, how about you go out of your way and fix the shitty Comcast service that I have received for the last year. My TV/Internet/VOIP phone will not work continuously for 24 hours. Every time they send a stupid tech they say everything is fine. Well is not!!! All my signals degrade or get cut daily at random. Comcast is a piece of Shit.

I would be happy if somebody would screw them all up, since in any case I am paying them every month for the most unreliable service I have ever had.

Unfortunately there are absolutely no other choices in my area, otherwise, I would have already changed.


RE: Overreacting?
By macman2034 on 5/31/08, Rating: 0
RE: Overreacting?
By dijuremo on 6/1/2008 8:28:04 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
if the service is as lame as you claim why dont' you just grow a pair and leave... if it truely is as horrible as you claim, it must not even be worth having. if it isn't your own fault to begin with for having a POS router...


You either do not know how to read or did not pay attention to my post. The signal is what drops, there is nothing wrong with my router (WRT54GS V2 with DD-WRT). No signal means no TV (analog channels have the "rain effect" while digitals are not viewable) and no Internet since the cable modem won't sync. No Internet means no phone because it is VOIP.

The only alternative to Internet I have is 1.5Mbps DSL because I am way too far from the TELCO, this is not acceptable for me.


RE: Overreacting?
By Yocal on 6/1/2008 8:32:10 PM , Rating: 1
Thats more likely than not an issue within your home/apt. A single subscriber issue. If it was the Comcast network your neighbors would all have the same problem. Granted the techs should fix it because thats their job. But to say Comcast is a piece of shit is not accurate. The techs that cant fix it suck. I get shitty service when I go to Dunkin Donuts, but I dont say Dunkin Donuts is a piece of shit. So lets call it what it is, shitty techs. Which could all be handled locally. I honestly have never had a problem with my phone or internet. EVER, in three years. My Tivo DVR is the worst thing ever created but, my phone and internet has never gone out.


RE: Overreacting?
By SandmanWN on 5/31/2008 8:31:45 PM , Rating: 3
Did they threaten to fire you if you didn't include the commercial?


RE: Overreacting?
By rudolphna on 5/31/2008 8:44:02 PM , Rating: 1
Wow, how can you stand to work for a company like that. I was one of the people who had the technician FALL ASLEEP ON MY COUCH. OH yeah, thats real professional. Downtime was unbearable. I would go for DAYS without any internet. The cable box sucked, i kept getting freezes, and lockups from it. HD was totally shitty. The phone support was a joke, the guy knew absolutely nothing. And when the internet DID work, it was slower than hell. At most, i got 4mb/s download, 30kb/s upload (and i subscribed to the 6/8mbps service!!!) Your company recently severely cut the quality of HD (even more than it already was) to include a few more channels. Thank god i moved and got away from comcast. Time Warner FTW!!!


RE: Overreacting?
By rudolphna on 5/31/2008 8:50:27 PM , Rating: 2
Oh AND!... They are so cheap and desperate to screw over the customer, they wont spend the money to upgrade the Infrastructure. Instead, they block programs like bittorrent, (i have experienced this firsthand btw so dont tell me it doesnt exist) AND they charge you MORE for Slower service. How is that not screwing over your customers? Obviously they have the money to do it, but nooo... Instead they drive around fancy Porsches and Lamborghinis instead of putting money into increasing the internet speed, instead of allowing their aging infrastructure to increase service. Answer my question, how is that not screwing customers over?


RE: Overreacting?
By rudolphna on 5/31/2008 8:52:56 PM , Rating: 1
Sorry, i forgot one more thing. How can you justify Cutting peoples service for downloading too much, when they subscribe to unlimited broadband. False advertising, and it just looks bad. Ok. They tell you not to download too much. Then they dont tell you what the limit is. Sure, 99% of the customers wont ever reach that limit. But its the principle of the thing.


RE: Overreacting?
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 5:42:17 AM , Rating: 2
I hate it when my neighbor's kid turns up the subwoofer in his car and just blasts away for hours. Does another wrong make it right, is it then ok if I tear out his car remote antenna and break all his locks so he can't get into the car anymore?

Nope. One wrong does not excuse the next. Certain Comcast employees and policies are pretty low-down but all the recourse a person has is to not be their customer, and demand a refund if they feel they didn't get the service paid for, taking them to court if necessary.


Henry David Thoreau would be proud
By JayeAeotiv on 5/31/08, Rating: 0
RE: Henry David Thoreau would be proud
By continuallyamazed on 5/31/2008 11:40:17 AM , Rating: 4
Civil disobedience is something like marching in an anti-war rally, this is more like poisoning a neighbors dog.


By derwin on 5/31/2008 12:46:04 PM , Rating: 2
perhaps, but poisening a neighbors dog such that after a trip to the doctors (not even a hurried trip, it could take a day or two) the dog as just fine again...
and if your neighbor was an as$hat who had government endowed monopolies (which were used to maintain minimal levels of service for atrioucious prices) throughout the country, i think poisening his dog in a non lethal way as such really would be more akin to civil disobedience.


By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 5:49:33 AM , Rating: 2
Not quite like poisoning the dog, this was just (ultimately) a monetary loss to Comcast, if anything.

I think the penalty for this type of hacking should be lower (but until it is, these kids should have justice uniformly applied in the punishment they receive), and one possible solution to large losses from hackers would be that companies with revenue tied to online presence should have insurance against this (as well as other causes of site downtime) to cover their losses.


By elgueroloco on 6/5/2008 12:35:54 AM , Rating: 2
No, this is more like gluing your neighbor's door shut or letting the air out of two of his tires. I can think of plenty of times when those actions would be ok, though not legal. Your neighbor would have to be a pretty huge douche to deserve it though.


FBI looks for hackers...
By Screwballl on 5/31/2008 10:41:22 AM , Rating: 2
... to offer them jobs with internet security functions in their own agency.

Heh yeah right... I hope they get put to good use though, would be sad to see these type of kids get locked up when their talents can be used for so much good.




RE: FBI looks for hackers...
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 5/31/2008 1:26:05 PM , Rating: 3
I don't really see much in the way of talent here. This was a fairly simple and by the book job. Nothing special. More than likely they will do a few years in prison for it and that will be it.


RE: FBI looks for hackers...
By Reclaimer77 on 5/31/2008 3:29:17 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I don't really see much in the way of talent here. This was a fairly simple and by the book job. Nothing special. More than likely they will do a few years in prison for it and that will be it.


The fact that Comcast, one of the largest ISP's globally, fell victim to such a " simply hack " speaks volumes to their competence.


RE: FBI looks for hackers...
By SandmanWN on 5/31/2008 8:20:13 PM , Rating: 2
They didn't hack Comcast. They hacked Network Solutions...


Lighten up
By TheDudeInTheBack on 5/31/2008 1:15:34 PM , Rating: 2
O.K. so the kids hacked Comcast. Who cares? Comcast, should make some security notes, use this experience as a training exercise, thank the internet gods that this wasn't an act of terrorism and move on.

ComCast customers who experienced a delay in getting their service? The kids should apologize. Personally, though, I think Comcast should apologize every time they keep someone on hold for 30 minutes and then disconnect on them.

What should we look out for? The FBI branding these kids as "domestic terrorists." and using the "Patriot Act" to track them.

It is so easy to become apathetic in this society. I think what these kids did was retarded in the sense that, as talented as they must be, they could have found a more constructive way to express themselves.

Personally I hope that are not caught. I hope that they are both in college getting their CS degree and that they have an opportunity to grow up and define themselves in other ways. Being saddled with a felony is no way to go through life.

My last bit of advice for you two rapscallions, Don't GIVE INTERVIEWS. If you must hack, STFU about it.




RE: Lighten up
By CloudFire on 5/31/2008 2:29:35 PM , Rating: 1
i agree completely

i hope they never get caught either.

i am a comcast customer, and i can sum up their service in two words: it blows!


RE: Lighten up
By lexluthermiester on 5/31/2008 8:51:28 PM , Rating: 2
Ditto!


RE: Lighten up
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 6:01:47 AM , Rating: 2
Who should care is all of us. The purpose of law is not just justice as in a revenge or lesson-teaching method, it is also to deter crime, maintain order, peace, and ultimately prosperity.

Therefore, law can't allow vigilante justice whether it be shooting someone or one step lesser in offense, nor one step lesser, and so on. The law is the line not to cross unless you are willing to accept the consequences set forth by that law.

We can't just attack some(one) who did what we feel is wrong but rather have to go through proper methods of what we as a people consider as a majority to be just, at least in ideal even if the system is a bit corrupt because it's the only system we have.

The world still spins without the greatest internet service on earth. What Comcast did is upsetting, but what if you didn't get the best service at a restaurant from your waiter, all you can do is complain or refuse to leave a tip, not prevent the restaurant from serving customers.

Fix the problem instead of excusing a cascade of further offenses, because the mindset that allows cascaded offenses is always going to be subjective about what is excusable or not, and will cause more chaos and loss to everyone through a breakdown of society to be civil.


RE: Lighten up
By The0ne on 6/2/2008 8:07:06 PM , Rating: 2
The problem with what you're saying is that Comcast has the authority and power to not change. And I believe we can see from previous reports that they don't claim and don't want to change what they are doing. Thus the customer will always get screwed until they finally give up.

I don't condone violence myself but I think there's a time when a person has to stand against what they believe is wrong. Granted it might not be the best course of action but maybe the violent justice might pave the way for someone else to properly bring Comcast to justice. How will you know what is going on unless that one person or group exposes them? Take North Korea for example...my God, brainwash heaven. Until they realize any better and are not afraid things can change, otherwise darkness and death.


Who are the victims? Who are the accused?
By cmoon on 5/31/2008 1:09:56 PM , Rating: 3
I am in agreement that the victims are the Comcast customers. However, the fellows who maliciously redirected the network profiles of the Comcast domain did not victimize Comcast customers; as they state frankly, their intended target was Comcast.

I have been an observer of Comcast for a long time - and now, I am forced to be their customer if I want high-speed access at home. Every customer of Comcast is a victim of Comcast. Unusually high and unjustified prices constitute the basis of the Comcast's corporate malfeasance. Difficulties with individual service are often met by Comcast with diversions, outright lies, and deliberate obfuscation. Attempts by the customer to communicate with this corporation are largely blocked, and it is only with heroic efforts that a customer may speak with corporate management of Comcast. The majority of Comcast customers are disatisfied with aspects of their service that they are promised through the invasive advertising that Compcast employs, and the company squelches these complaints completely.

Thus, I applaud and support the admittedly illegal actions of the individuals who instigated this bit of quite harmless net trickery. One result of this was one more inconvenience for Comcast's victims, who have grown accustomed to and numbed by the frequent service failures of Comcast. A much more significant result is the broad dissemination, once again, of Comcast's business practices. With enough pressure, the variety of Comcast's opaque practices - how they steal your money - can be more fully illuminated. Perhaps my voice, and your voice, and all our voices, may be registered, and the management of Comcast will listen to what they have previously ignored.

Keep hacking them, IMO. If they won't conduct business correctly, I see no purpose in extending them the respect they demand.




By Mike Acker on 6/1/2008 8:43:31 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Difficulties with individual service are often met by Comcast with diversions, outright lies, and deliberate obfuscation. Attempts by the customer to communicate with this corporation are largely blocked,


good description but I'm not sure that would be limited to ComCast,--

as private individuals we have only one response available to us and that is to cancel the offending service.

broadband service is likely a monopoly in most areas though for the same reason that electric power is a monopoly: all the poles and wires are only put up once

the telephone service used to be like that until the Federal Gov't forced the regional bells to allow re-sellers to get in. I used such a re-seller for years because the RBOC service stunk so bad

so maybe the same will happen to the broadband companies

i might look as the DSL/ dish package as an alternative but it is too woodsy for a dish to work here and DSL is n/a in this area. but i do know people who have gone to the dsl/dish solution

the only other means we have by which to get corporations to behave is government. surprisingly that option isn't as un-accessible as one might think


By Lerianis on 6/1/2008 11:12:47 AM , Rating: 2
Frequent service failures? Hold on there, pardner! I have had exactly 3 service interruptions in the past 3 months on my Comcast internet, for varying periods but averaging out to 25 minutes or so apiece.
That is pretty DARN good uptime, to be totally honest.


Overreacting?
By SNJGuy on 6/1/2008 2:33:34 AM , Rating: 1
dijuremo
Since you work for COMCRAP, how about you go out of your way and fix the shitty Comcast service that I have received for the last year.

Well I wasn't really trying to make this a stick up for Comcast thread. I mentioned I was an employee because I felt it would be hypocritical not to mention so. And as I stated in my post, I would have felt this way regardless of what company was the victim. As for your shitty service as you put it, if it truly is as bad as you say it is, there are avenues you can take. And if you cannot find a resolution to your issue, then you should cancel your service. Even as an employee, if my service was that bad I wouldn’t keep it, whether it’s free or not. As for me going out of my way to fix your service I actually would if I could. I do not work in the field, but if you live in New Jersey I’m sure I could help in some way.

SandmanWN
Did they threaten to fire you if you didn't include the commercial?
Touché , but no. I’m speaking on my own free will and from my own experience. I was not an employee when cable first introduced internet service; all I had was a crappy 56k dial up connection from the phone company. My only option for faster speed was ISDN which would only have doubled my speed, and more than quadrupled my fee. And even when they did eventually roll out DSL, well guess what, they were too cheap to expand their service because I lived too far from their Central Office. Had I waited for them to expand and make it available, I would have waited 10 years from the time cable started offering internet. So where is the innovation there? Hence, I speak from experience.

rudolphna
Wow, how can you stand to work for a company like that? I was one of the people who had the technician FALL ASLEEP ON MY COUCH. OH yeah, that’s real professional.

You’re exactly right when you say that’s real professional. And I would hope he was fired for doing so. I know all of our work ethics and actions reflect back on the company we work for. And we like every company unfortunately have our share of slackers. But the majority of techs that I used to work with would never do something like that.

Oh AND!... They are so cheap and desperate to screw over the customer, they wont spend the money to upgrade the Infrastructure. Instead, they block programs like bit torrent, Instead they drive around fancy Porsches and Lamborghinis instead of putting money into increasing the internet speed

You must have a better source to the inner workings of our finances then I do, because I don’t even begin to claim to know what we can afford to do. Honestly though, I don’t agree with everything they do or don’t do myself. I don’t believe in blocking any type of content or initiating bandwidth caps like Time Warner plans on doing. Everyone is overcharged for everything these days. Gas, electricity, oil, groceries, you name it. I don’t like it either. I’m sure there are a lot of things they can afford to do, and there are areas where they are upgrading infrastructure. People forget that most Comcast areas used to belong to other Cable Companies at one time. They inherited a lot of the issues that exist today, unfortunately it does take time to improve on things. I never once claimed that no one ever gets screw over at times, but that does not mean it was a conscious effort to do so.

Sorry, i forgot one more thing. How can you justify Cutting peoples service for downloading too much, when they subscribe to unlimited broadband. False advertising and it just looks bad. Ok. They tell you not to download too much. Then they don’t tell you what the limit is. Sure, 99% of the customers won’t ever reach that limit. But it’s the principle of the thing.

I honestly can’t say I’m all for that myself. But look at it from a business perspective. There are terms of service. Like it or not, every similar company has them. And your right, 99% of the people would never have to worry about it. But the 1% who do, are more than likely violating the terms of service, whether it be illegal downloading, running some type of server, sending spam. The amount of bandwidth that would have to be used to risk someone being disconnected could never be used by someone who uses the service for legitimate residential activities. Most businesses would not use the amount of bandwidth that it would take to cause someone to be disconnected.

Reclaimer77
The fact that Comcast, one of the largest ISP's globally, fell victim to such a " simply hack " speaks volumes to their competence.

The fact is, the hack was done through Network Solutions. It had nothing to do with Comcast’s security or lack thereof. Before you go judging other peoples competence, maybe you should look at your own, and make sure you have your facts straight. Comcast has no control over the system that was hacked. Once these kids were in, they could have did this to anyone who’s domain is registered through Network Solutions.

Continuallyamazed
Civil disobedience is something like marching in an anti-war rally, this is more like poisoning a neighbors dog.

I agree 100%

Derwin
perhaps, but poisoning a neighbor’s dog such that after a trip to the doctors (not even a hurried trip, it could take a day or two) the dog as just fine again...

Gee Derwin, maybe someone should non-lethally poison you and then see if you feel the same way.

Now with that being said, I apologize for this being such a long posting, and I will not post any more on it because it's really off topic. I'm not speaking for Comcast, I'm speaking for myself, and that does not change the fact that what these kids did was wrong. Yes, nobody was hurt, and even I don't think they should go to jail or receive any type of harsh sentence. But they still need to be held accountable for there actions. Where do you draw the line? A stupid hack that cost mostly an inconvenience, or should we wait until they graduate to hacking into peoples bank accounts. Or shutting down the electrical grid. It's proven that most "Criminals" usually become more bold in their activities the longer they go without getting caught. And those of you who think this is Big Brother coming down on innocent kids, you will be the first ones to complain in 10 years when you find out these kids hacked into your bank account or hacked into a Credit Agency and stole your identity, then find out they could have put a stop to this now.




RE: Overreacting?
By mindless1 on 6/1/2008 5:52:06 AM , Rating: 3
Umm, the all-in-one reply doesn't really cut it, you'll need to reply to each person so there is both continuity in the discussion and a better chance for those you replied to, to have a realization of what you wrote so they can further clarify their points, refute yours, or add whatever else they deem appropriate.


RE: Overreacting?
By Mike Acker on 6/1/2008 11:12:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sorry, i forgot one more thing. How can you justify Cutting peoples service for downloading too much, when they subscribe to unlimited broadband.


therein lies the real problem, I'd say -- if I was a betting Man

when I signed up for my 5MB/sec broadband service what was the service level agreement?

the contract says 5 MB/sec

what it doesn't say is "for eMail and web browsing which is what we expect most customers do"

the old ASSUME problem and a lack of communication has created this massive broughaha
over traffic control

what needs to happen is that the service needs to be sold as 5MB/sec browser service or 5MBsec CONTINUOUS

them is two different critters from the standpoint of the ISP: the continuous service user puts a much greater load on the system than the browser user does

is it right for p2p advocates to get CONTINUOUS service after paying the standard rate? that is the question that the ISPs will need to resolve

one easy way to fix it would be to sell service for one rate without P2P capability and at another rate for P2P users. another way would be to set a max. MB transfer/hour. Windows XP/SP3 was 332MB. 500MB/hr would be enough to keep me happy. but certainly there are others who'd laugh at that. and that's OK, but this is the aspect of Service levels that needs attention.


Yet another bunch of dumbasses
By amanojaku on 5/31/2008 11:08:56 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
Plus, I'm just so mad at Comcast. I'm tired of their shitty service.

“I wish I was a minor right now,” said the 19-year-old Defiant, “because this is going to be really bad.”


These guys may have skills, but they haven't grown up. Not only was what they did illegal, it was also selfish. They screwed over lots of potential subscribers who may have been perfectly happy with Comcast's service. In a capitalist society money has power: if you don't like a company's products or services the simplest solution is to go somewhere else. I'm sure DSL exists in those areas. And I'm all for cable and telephone companies giving up their monopolies. Businesses don't own roads; why do companies own lines, and as a result geographic areas? Don't hack; write your congressmen!




By FITCamaro on 5/31/2008 11:20:02 AM , Rating: 1
Your Congressman doesn't give a crap what you think. That's pretty apparent. Hence why their approval rating is lower than the President's.


RE: Yet another bunch of dumbasses
By dare2savefreedom on 6/1/2008 2:59:15 AM , Rating: 2
amantojackoff:

"Not only was what" >> say what?

"I'm sure DSL exists in those areas."
why don't you come here and I show you it don't exist.
My money has no power - what downgrade to 56k? Yeah that will stick it to the man.

"write your congressmen"
he's to busy getting money under the table for pro mpaa laws.


By MamiyaOtaru on 6/1/2008 3:27:47 AM , Rating: 1
"Not only was what they did illegal, "

That sentence fragment is perfectly fine. Don't blame him for your subpar reading skills.


Anyone realize...?
By camski on 6/1/2008 7:56:26 AM , Rating: 2
Everyone here is saying "good on them" or "death penalty", but no one's seeing how impressive this is. Hackers are naturally impressive people with what they do, but come on, I doubt more than 5% of users on this site could do something like that, and this site is not comprised of average users. I'm 19, and my JOB is to keep guys like these out of USMC networks. These guys are my age and I give them all the respect in the world, they're crazy. Whether or not you agree with them, you don't think their hacking a giant national network like Comcast is anything more than 'commendable' or deserving of jailtime?




RE: Anyone realize...?
By SandmanWN on 6/1/2008 12:07:16 PM , Rating: 1
It is so sad to see someone with a network security job in the USMC can't even diagnose the problem correctly in this situation. So very sad. Whats also sad is that over sensationalism lead to this. Repeat hacked Comcast enough in an article and someone will believe it.

Once again pay attention and learn something...

THEY HACKED NETWORK SOLUTIONS, NOT COMCAST!
These hackers used a known exploit in network solutions that they have been trying to fix for about 6 months now to redirect dns records. Nothing physically owned by Comcast was effected.


Good for them
By MooseBoys on 5/31/2008 5:29:04 PM , Rating: 2
They're going to get caught, get some minor jail time, then get hired by some big bank, or even comcast themselves, to do network security.




Mediadefender
By shamgar03 on 6/1/2008 12:37:58 AM , Rating: 2
Wheres the FBI statement that they are "working hard to take down the guys who DDOS'd Revision3" AKA mediadefender, AKA the guys who work for the Music and Movie industries. Someone at the top called this what it is: corporate ass licking. End of story.




If everyone here that got posted 5
By jhinoz on 6/1/2008 7:05:06 AM , Rating: 2
ran your's and my (USA & AUS) countries the world would most likely be a better place for everyone but the lawyers.

seriously

you guys seriously!

screw you guys i'm going home!




Like I Said Before
By Quiescent on 6/1/2008 10:04:25 PM , Rating: 2
They did it in an immature sense. They could of done their attack after a little defacement. I have seen some pretty professional defacements in the past. Sometimes they don't even take down the entire website, but instead puts their request somewhere noticable on the website.

They could of done, for example:

We found a vulnerability in your service. Please contact us at email@email.com

Please take us seriously, as this vulnerability not only allows us to deface your website, but allows us to capture sensitive information such as username, passwords, and credit card information.

If they did not take them seriously, then they could persist. They could do the DNS poisoning when not taken seriously. For instance to know that you haven't been taken serious is when they take your message out of the website. Then you could take a more serious approach.

Defacement is an act of showing disgust in something. It shouldn't be done as "LULZ I ROXERED U!!!"

They said they contacted tech support, but we all very well know that tech support isn't going to do crap about this stuff. Maybe if you get Tier 3 support, will there be something perhaps done, if anything, but otherwise, the defacement would have gotten to someone more important and probably know a little bit more about what to do.

Every American ISP is crap. We all know it. Expensive, but crappy connections. Monopolization, I like to call it.

With my ISP (Cox.net), I have problems with receiving 2000 ARP packets per 20 secs before I got a router. They also redirect me to localdomain.localhost.com when going to an IRC network they deem "bad", even though it is not, and attempt to remove botnet software from my computer. I then either have to connect to the server VIA the IP or switch DNS servers to say OpenDNS.

However, calling tech support did not do worth a crap. They just didn't have that problem apparently!

So yeah, they could of done a better job with their plans. Instead of looking more like a Skiddie!




By callmeroy on 6/2/2008 9:30:38 AM , Rating: 2
Granted it wasn't huge but there is no over-reaction on comcast's part here tracking down the hackers and getting to the bottom of it. WTF are you people 10 years old? Its a business, what the hackers did was illegal.

You break the law you pay the price - do I agree with the severity (or in some cases the lack of severity) of the punishment....not often but my god this country/world is in trouble with the laziness and laid back attitude everyone has anymore.

Let's just go to no law enforcement and laws at all...lets just let everyone do ANYTHING they want big or small without regard or consequence.

yeah that'll make things better.




Clueless ... and lying ....
By HVAC on 6/2/2008 3:43:17 PM , Rating: 2
All of you guys are operating under the assumption that the FBI knows what it is doing and that they are telling the truth that they are close to nabbing the suspects.

The police are under no compunction to not lie about facts or progress of an investigation. In fact, just the opposite.

My guess is that they are simply trying to flush them out by trying to make them nervous.




By PWNettle on 6/2/2008 6:44:27 PM , Rating: 2
comedy gold.

...because much like the pro-piracy idiocy you had to expect that there's be a bunch of pro-hacker idiocy too saying how cool these children are and how they shouldn't be punished for totally disrupting a business.

Two thumbs up for totally delivering the expected.




By elgueroloco on 6/5/2008 12:43:56 AM , Rating: 2
So why is the FBI so agressively persuing these kids, but not really bothering to punish Media Defender's patently illegal attack on a totally innocent business? They even know already who did Media Defender's attack, no tracking down necessary. Where's the punishment for those bastards?! Even if that site actually tracked 295k illegal downloads (which I really doubt, seeing as this major portion of the story wasn't even mentioned until long after they were caught hacking), DOS attacks are still totally illegal and criminal.




Smart and Dumb
By IronBoy on 6/5/2008 7:59:06 AM , Rating: 2
These guys could go to prison for a prank. They're obviously really smart, but O so dumb!




Good luck FBI....
By lexluthermiester on 5/31/2008 8:35:34 PM , Rating: 1
The chances of the FBI finding the people who pulled this off are slim to none. And I personally think the FBI has better things to focus their efforts and resources on than a couple of prankster crackers. Although to those pranksters I say; Bravo! Comcast needs to be humbled once in a while...




I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By TheSameAsU on 5/31/08, Rating: -1
By daInvincibleGama on 5/31/2008 1:03:53 PM , Rating: 4
Wow. That's a pretty harsh reaction for someone who lost email for one fucking night. It's almost like your internet has never been down before.

The kids did nothing serious. They didn't destroy shit and they didn't steal millions. It was a shitty email service for one night. Get over it.


RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By Noya on 5/31/2008 1:28:02 PM , Rating: 1
What an asshat.


By lexluthermiester on 5/31/2008 8:49:17 PM , Rating: 2
Don't you mean dillhole?


RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By rudolphna on 5/31/08, Rating: 0
RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By Ringold on 6/1/2008 2:22:20 AM , Rating: 1
I don't like my neighbors, either. That doesn't mean I'm going to annoy the crap out of them, even at an inconsequential time or place.

Someone asked what was up with the corporate ass licking. I ask, isn't it past you childrens bed time? That, or do you not all realize that the large majority of people work for these evil, faceless corporations? Even elementary school tries to teach you not to screw with other peoples things, regardless of if you like them or not. This is a communist state, all things do not belong to all people, and thus people can't do anything they want to other peoples property without reprimand. The digital age may make it easier and more anonymous, but no less real or a legitimate concern.

If people don't like Comcast, and there are options, don't attack Comcast. They wont care so long as they've got your coin; move to a competitor. If there are none, then three points: a) write to some elected bozo, and complain about the monopoly. b) Nobody ever said life is fair all the time. There are still some nice rural communities who have only satellite providers and dial-up as an option -- now that bites. c) Judging from commercials, wireless internet via cell phone companies appears to be picking up steam. I for one welcome my wireless internet overlords, and hope they speed their arrival and smite all current competitors, in the name of capitalism and lower prices for all.

That said, I think the OP over reacted a bit. A night in an empty jail cell and some community service (where they actually deal with, you know, humans) would seem rational to me.


RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By Lerianis on 6/1/2008 11:10:26 AM , Rating: 2
They didn't attack Comcast just because they didn't like Comcast. They attacked them because they tried to WARN Comcast of this vulnerability, and got the big 'yeah, yeah' from Comcast.

Comcast has only THEMSELVES to blame for this, if they would have listened to these people and FIXED THE PROBLEM, they wouldn't have had these guys have to go to this extreme to get their message across.


RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By dominae1 on 6/1/2008 2:55:57 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Comcast has only THEMSELVES to blame for this, if they would have listened to these people and FIXED THE PROBLEM, they wouldn't have had these guys have to go to this extreme to get their message across.

How often do security research firms release proof of concepts to showcase vulnerabilities in software, and how often do these same firms turn around and actually attack companies/corporations/etc just to say "See, I told you this would happen, but you didn't listen to me/flipped me off so..."

IMO the a-holes were the hackers, not Comcast. Knowing of a vulnerability and acting upon it are what separate criminals from law-abiding people. I know that causing grievous physical harm to a person for no reason is illegal, and I have the ability to do so, but I don't harm another person just because I can do so, even if I didn't like that person.

I've read so many responses here stating "they only lost email for a day" and blah, blah, blah. Apparently many, if not all, of you who respond this way haven't had a job where replies were time-sensitive, meaning the difference between gaining and losing business. Also, I've read "it was just webmail." What if some of those Comcast subscribers were only set up through webmail? What if that's all they know how to use? It doesn't matter what it "just" was, it doesn't make it right for them to lose productivity and business because a couple of losers acted on some perceived slight.


By Lerianis on 6/2/2008 2:53:56 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
How often do security research firms release proof of concepts to showcase vulnerabilities in software, and how often do these same firms turn around and actually attack companies/corporations/etc just to say "See, I told you this would happen, but you didn't listen to me/flipped me off so..."


Actually, in the not-so-distant past..... some of the people working for those companies would do this, if the people didn't listen to them. They would put a page on the internet, showcasing the vulnerabilities and ACTUALLY HAVING THE EXPLOIT ON THEM, in order to get the companies in question to move quicker.
This is only an extension of that, and again, one that these people would not have had to go to if Comcast would have listened to them and fixed the problem.
I really hope that these guys don't get ANY time in prison and only a very small fine, while Comcast is brought up on congressional hearings about this.

It is as someone once said to me: a company NEVER fixes something until someone has the balls to exploit the thing in question.


By The0ne on 6/3/2008 8:20:43 PM , Rating: 2
KPBS/NPR did an interview with a security firm and essentially the firm representative said that they do work hard in finding vulnerabilities and will inform the proper clients. If the clients sees fit not to do anything about what has been found then the firm takes the initiative to publish what they have found. He did confirm that both "bad" and regular people will be able to see the publication and it's entirely up the the clients to do what they NOW know is a weakness.

Of course, this is just one example.


RE: I hope the FBI finds these kids fast.
By phil126 on 5/31/2008 10:52:36 PM , Rating: 1
Is it really the first time you lost your email while having COMCAST. I am sure most of the people though it was pretty the usual SNAFU that leads to a day of downtime with COMCAST. Everyone I know who has COMCAST experiences that at least a couple times a year.


By Lerianis on 6/1/2008 11:14:46 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, but so do people on dial-up internet, satellite internet, FiOS, etc.
Downtime is ALWAYS going to be common until everything goes wireless and EVEN THEN, there will be some downtime now and again.


By Yocal on 6/1/2008 8:37:42 PM , Rating: 2
So a couple times a year all of a sudden is horrible reliability? I bet the system reliability is probably in the 98-99% range. Since everyone seems to think Verizon is the be all end all of the ISP world, lets give them a call and ask what the reliability of their plant is. And while your at it, ask how long it will take for a tech to show up at your house, and how much a service call is. Lets not leave them out of your huge corporation bashing party.


"I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired." -- North Korean Supreme Commander Kim Jong-il











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