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Anti-piracy firm attributes Memorial Day DoS attack to an automatic misfire by its servers

MediaDefender CEO Randy Saaf, speaking in an interview with Wired’s Threat Level, explained his side of the story behind a Memorial Day weekend Denial-of-Service attack against legitimate TV site Revision3.

According to Saaf, MediaDefender wasn’t even aware that Revision3’s tracker saw legitimate use. BitTorrent site Fenopy.com used Revision3’s internal tracker – unintentionally left open to the world due to a security oversight – to distribute some 296,000 downloads consisting “most of unauthorized copyrighted movies.”

“Our systems were targeting a tracker not even knowing it was Revision3's tracker,” said Saaf. “They were using the tracker as the tracker for their legitimate content. It had been open for years.”

MediaDefender attributed the DoS attack to an automatic response to Revision3’s closing the hole that allowed outside use of its tracker.

“We saw an open BitTorrent tracker with a lot of pirated content on it. We had been posting fake files to their tracker. Over Memorial Day weekend, Revision3 changed some configurations,” said Saaf.

Louderback recalls similar circumstances; once the tracker’s configuration was fixed, “MediaDefender went into overdrive and started pummeling us.”

MediaDefender commands over 2,000 servers, backed up by 9 GB/sec of dedicated bandwidth.

“If a tracker was previously open and suddenly shut, their systems are automatically configured to put them out of business,” said Louderback.

The 296,000 downloads that MediaDefender observed is a number that appears far larger than figured implied by Revision3; Louderback, writing in a company blog post that announced the attack, acknowledged “some unauthorized use,” but said that it regularly took steps to “de-authorize” uploaded torrents that pointed to non-Revision3 content.

Regardless of the actual numbers, Louderback announced on the June 2 episode of the podcast TWiT that Revision3 would not be pursuing MediaDefender in court after all, cancelling previous threats of legal action. It appears that investigators for the FBI are still looking into the attack, despite bureau acknowledgements that DoS attacks existed in a “gray” area of U.S. computer security law.

MediaDefender promised to adjust its policies for the future, “We’ve added a policy that will investigate open public trackers to see if they are associated with other companies,” said MediaDefender executive Ben Grodsky. “[We will] first will make a communication that says, ‘hey are you aware of this?’”

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Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By MrPoletski on 6/4/2008 8:36:41 AM , Rating: 5
So not only are they a bunch of asshats, they are a bunch of retarded asshats to boot.

Wonderful.

What they are doing should be illegal. If it's not, then how come hackers DOS'ing microsoft etc IS illegal?




By MrPoletski on 6/4/2008 9:19:31 AM , Rating: 5
nothing more annoying than an ASSTARD™


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By Locutus465 on 6/4/2008 9:33:53 AM , Rating: 5
As far as I'm concerned what was done should be illegal regardless of whether the target was ligitimate or not... In the real world I don't have the right to wake up one morning and bludgen someone that I *beleive* to be a criminal for no reason at all, the same should apply in the cyber world. Leave law enforcement to law enforcement officials.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 10:20:56 AM , Rating: 4
DOS attacks are federal offenses, and should be prosecuted no matter what the target. I believe that Louderback did say that if the FBI asks if they want to press charges they will, but they might not do it otherwise. I haven't listened to the released version of TWiT (I watched that part live), so what I'm talking about might have been after the show ended (they keep talking after the "official" end).

MediaDefender needs to be stopped.

By the way, the correct capitalization is TWiT , not Twit, since it stands for "this WEEK in TECH".


By winterspan on 6/4/2008 11:41:38 PM , Rating: 4
Yea, what is this bullshit about the FBI saying DOS attacks "exist in a grey area"???
Let me tell you, If I purchased an entire data center and launched a massive SYN attack against Amazon.com, I CAN GUARANTEE THE FBI WOULDN'T SEE THAT AS A "GREY AREA"!!

This *obviously* falls under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and these scumbags should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It doesn't even matter whether the tracker was legitimate or not. It's the same as saying that assaulting people is ok if they are assumed to be criminals...

Unfortunately, the stupid police/FBI are probably 10 years behind in understand technology, so can't even see a crime.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By Polynikes on 6/4/2008 11:28:20 AM , Rating: 3
Good analogy, I completely agree. They have no right to do this.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By gmw1082 on 6/4/2008 2:44:15 PM , Rating: 5
Agreed, It goes right up there with "Your honor, I didn't know she was under 18..."


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By phattyboombatty on 6/4/2008 9:41:20 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
If it's not, then how come hackers DOS'ing microsoft etc IS illegal?


Generally, those types of hacker attacks involve hijacking thousands of computers to carry out the DOS attack. MediaDefender owns an army of servers to carry out the DOS attack, so it doesn't have to hijack anybody else's computer.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By Icelight on 6/4/2008 11:08:41 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
MediaDefender owns an army of servers to carry out the DOS attack, so it doesn't have to hijack anybody else's computer.


Neat! So as long as I purchase my own set of servers I can go wild and DoS sites I don't like all day long!

I'd like to know why the *hell* they aren't pursuing legal action...if it is the cost that is a concern, okay, that's legitimate...but if they're "trying to be the better person" because MediaDefender fessed up I have to ask "why?" MediaDefender isn't going to stop doing this jsut because you don't pursue legal action, you know.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By kkwst2 on 6/4/2008 12:05:26 PM , Rating: 2
Well, reading between the lines, I'm guessing that MediaAggressor implied they might counter with allegations that Revision3 was hosting infringing torrents.

Whether they knew about it or not, it could be a sticky situation if brought to court. The potential exposure to an expensive lawsuit is enough to scare most small businesses away.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 12:56:13 PM , Rating: 2
Well, once Revision3 learned that their tracker was opened (from someone on their forum), they closed it right away. Louderback said that having the tracker was dumb and possibly negligent, but open trackers are not illegal. Also, from the description on TWiT, they weren't holding the torrent files, the tracker was just saying where they were.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By Anosh on 6/4/2008 1:51:42 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Also, from the description on TWiT, they weren't holding the torrent files, the tracker was just saying where they were.


That's usually the case and yet TBG is being prosecuted for doing just that (helping to commit copyright infringement).
TBG is in Sweden and is being prosecuted in Sweden but I'm sure it's worse in US.


RE: Ah, right, so that's ok then.
By Anosh on 6/4/2008 1:51:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Also, from the description on TWiT, they weren't holding the torrent files, the tracker was just saying where they were.


That's usually the case and yet TBG is being prosecuted for doing just that (helping to commit copyright infringement).
TBG is in Sweden and is being prosecuted in Sweden but I'm sure it's worse in US.


By djkrypplephite on 6/5/2008 7:45:34 AM , Rating: 2
Because the RIAA and the MPAA own the government.


DoS - Grey Area.
By choadenstein on 6/4/2008 9:10:44 AM , Rating: 5
I think the funniest thing about this is MediaDefender's openness about the attack. Eventhough the FBI is mentioned in this article as saying that DoS attacks are a grey area of the law, MediaDefender's cavalier comments are still absurd.

Ever heard two wrongs don't make a right? If I stole your dvd collection, you don't get to come over to my house and destroy my TV, you don't get to punch me in the face... You get to sue me, that's it. You redress wrongs done against you in the courts, not through vigilantism.

This is a perfect example of WHY we have this system of redressing wrongs too. A public entity or citizen does not get to play judge and jury on who or what is lawful. MediaDefender can't just say, oh, it was our computer system that spotted something illegal and went after it... Not our fault...

It IS still your fault, it's analogous to saying, oh I have this guard dog who is trained to attack trespassers and he attacked the mailman who had a lawful purpose on our property... Not my fault. Wrong, it IS your fault.

I find it extremely humorous that these guys have been allowed to do what they do for so long as it is. They're like a digital Gestapo. Whatever your side is about the use of p2p, torrents, etc... It doesn't factor into this. This isn't about the legitamacy of p2p systems, this is about public entities acting as if they have the authority to prosecute crimes.

what MediaDefender is doing is playing vigilante for corporate intellectual property holders.




RE: DoS - Grey Area.
By Squuiid on 6/4/2008 10:17:47 AM , Rating: 5
Excellent post. I couldn't agree with you more.


RE: DoS - Grey Area.
By emboss on 6/4/08, Rating: -1
RE: DoS - Grey Area.
By LyCannon on 6/4/2008 11:36:27 AM , Rating: 5
This is exactly what happens when there are special interest groups in DC making sure our lawmakers don't make it illegal for a company to do something like this. DOS attacks are illegal. If a normal person where to do a DOS attack against the government with his own systems, you bet your ass he'd be in jail. But if a RIAA sponsored company does it, then it's fair game....just keep those campaign donations coming...


RE: DoS - Grey Area.
By PandaBear on 6/4/2008 12:35:22 PM , Rating: 5
Exactly. The media companies' lobbist told the federal government to delay the investigation, and tie terrorism charges to piracy (Terrorism funded by pirate software/movies, WTF is that argument about?)

Our government is corrupted.


RE: DoS - Grey Area.
By Scabies on 6/4/2008 12:31:32 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
It IS still your fault, it's analogous to saying, oh I have this guard dog who is trained to attack trespassers and he attacked the mailman who had a lawful purpose on our property... Not my fault. Wrong, it IS your fault.

Exactly. They cant call "whoopsies" and "my bad" when someone configured their bots to perform as we have seen in the R3 incident.


dumb...
By Bender 123 on 6/4/2008 9:04:55 AM , Rating: 3
So the police find a store that has broken locks and is constantly being used by vagrants to steal merchandise.

The Police, instead of telling the store that there locks are broken and people are stealing from their shelves and setting up little black markets after hours, leave the locks broken so they can continue to raid the building to arrest the criminals.

The store finds out its locks are broken and replaces the locks, keeping the criminals out and closing the honeypot for the police.

The police then shut down the now secure store, because they wrecked their criminal hangout by being secure.

Yes...that...makes...PERFECT...sense...And yes, i am aware no one has ever given the right to media defender to take over the reigns of the legit law enforcement.




RE: dumb...
By Cogman on 6/4/2008 9:33:01 AM , Rating: 2
That's exactly what it sounds like to me. "So, you are trying not to break the law eh? Well, our profits are down so we're going to DoS you until you cry, then sue you when you allow illegal torrents again, that will show you!"

That's simply retarded. They (a non government entity) are punishing a legitimate business for patching holes in their software. Revision3 should sue for sure. They took down their business causing profit loss, that is illegal, end of story.

I'd say they would have a pretty good case against them as well.


RE: dumb...
By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 10:27:06 AM , Rating: 2
I'd say they have an excellent case. For three days their customers could not download any of their programs, they lost a bunch of advertising money, and two of their most popular shows, Diggnation and Tekzilla, both come out on Friday and were only available for a few hours! They really need to sue MediaDefender.


RE: dumb...
By JimmyC on 6/7/2008 1:33:27 AM , Rating: 2
Didn't you get the memo? Stop the damn analogies.


By Reclaimer77 on 6/4/2008 11:05:27 AM , Rating: 1
Guys I'm taking a poll. Just list one of the above weapons that you would like to use to beat Media Defender employees to death with. And lets see which one wins.

I'll add my vote, I'll go with the rubber hose. Because it will take a long, looong time.




By amanojaku on 6/4/2008 11:13:52 AM , Rating: 3
Lead pipe? Rubber hose? Two by four with nail? Crowbar?

Puh-lease! Posters of Roseanne Barr and Rosie O'Donnell naked. Those MediaDefender guys will WISH they were dead.


By bodar on 6/4/2008 3:15:57 PM , Rating: 2
WMDs are against international law!


By StupidMonkey on 6/5/2008 1:08:40 PM , Rating: 3
A piece of paper or cardboard. Death by papercut.


Using own servers
By rhangman on 6/4/2008 11:46:21 AM , Rating: 5
If it was simply a matter of using your own servers vs. hijacking others, I am sure you could find plenty of volunteers to DoS the likes of MediaDefender.

Maybe time for the DoS@home project?




RE: Using own servers
By Truxy on 6/4/2008 2:52:38 PM , Rating: 2
LoL.

I think MediaDefender needs to research their research.


RE: Using own servers
By ViroMan on 6/5/2008 3:31:06 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
MediaDefender commands over 2,000 servers, backed up by 9 GB/sec of dedicated bandwidth.


Well with speeds like that your going to need an enormous amount of volunteers to coordinate an attack at the same time and do it for a few hours. Sure there is a ton of hate out there for these guys but, I doubt that we can get that many to do this attempt justice.

However if the attempt is made... post it here so I can join ya guys!


This would never have happened...
By DanoruX on 6/4/2008 9:34:20 AM , Rating: 5
...if MediaDefender were on one of those 40GB/month capped connections.




By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 10:28:11 AM , Rating: 1
lol


By PandaBear on 6/4/2008 12:36:11 PM , Rating: 2
You sir, deserve a 6 on this post.


A Travesty, plain and simple
By MrBlastman on 6/4/2008 10:32:05 AM , Rating: 3
So lets see, Media Defender monitors thousands of open trackers - and places dummy files on them to set people up. If they see a tracker close their doors to open traffic, they blast them off the internet as a punishment for not paying their dues by allowing Media Defender to use them.

Who the heck made them the SUPREME OVERLORDS of the internet?! They have no right to dictate what you can and can not do with your tracker, especially if you use it for legitimate reasons. But, as far as they are concerned, any open tracker is a acceptable target. Only now, after they have had their hands slapped (and not hard enough might I add), they are saying they will "take measures" to prevent this in the future.

Sure..... We all know this is a load of bunk. This reminds me of that incident on Zeta 12 in the Varga sector a while back...

*dreamy music plays*
Imagine a world of perfection - pretty streets, pretty houses. Green grass swaying in the wind, Off-purple skies, large rocky hills in the distance and streets filled with happy people - all walking along blissfully doing their daily chore.

Not a shudder was heard in the system for years. Peace was evident and everyone was swell. People would gleefully go about their day blissfully unaware of the transponder node attached to the backs of their ears.

Beeping in unison, the status lights blinking in harmony, "All is right, all is good. Your master will keep you safe," echoed throughout the muddied, yet semi-clear consciousness of every citizen.

On this particular day a young boy was stooped on a small hill observing down at his peers. He was rubbing his knee as he had moments before stumbled over an outcropping of granite and knocked his noggin on a stump. As he looked down upon the town he began to realize the fallacy of his of his home, totally un-noticing the transponder unit that had been jarred loose, lying in the grass beside his foot. His thoughts raced freely with a rapid clip. The ludicrousness of the harmony was brighter every thinking nanosecond. But all was to be abruptly changed in his life - more so than it already had been in a flash of a second.

A ripple in space-time emanated behind him as a gravitational wake rolled across his back. A gust of wind leapt forth from an invisible source and before he could turn around to take a gander a cold but strong hand was felt on his shoulder.

A darkly clad man robed in exquisite cloth with a mild glow from his hooded eye sockets stood forth. A tremble went down the child’s spine as a new feeling - something he had never experienced before; something indescribable was felt from fingertip to fingertip... Fear itself. "What are you doing, young man?," Faintly echoed in his ear as a hot breath passed his neck.

"N-nothing sir. I was just watching the town below and I realized that these people, all of them, are walking around like a colony of ants in that mound beside me," stated the child.

The dark figure looked more intently at the boy’s skull, his eyes narrowing a bit observing his ear and the lack of a transponder. He was becoming perturbed but continued with the interrogation, "A thought, from you? And why do you think they do such a thing?"

"I don't know. I was up on this hill running after a butterfly and tripped over this stone," the boy explained as he strained to point at the granite rock behind him while being firmly held fast in place by the strong arm on his shoulder. "I tripped over it and bumped my head on that stump over there," he motioned towards the root "and when I got up I just began to think."

The dark figure, although his face was obscured by his hooded garb, could faintly be seen frowning with a deep scowl and began to speak again... "So this thought, how does it make you feel?"

"I don't know, this is something that feels different." the boy coyly spoke and as he began to speak again a group of kids ran up the hill and surrounded the boy and figure. They were his friends, his group, his peers and had come to meet up for the afternoon romp.

The dark figure seemed unfazed by this new flock of citizens. He had heard enough. This young child’s mind would forever be different and the damage had been done. With a quick motion of his left hand (which held an odd, but shiny sphere shaped device with a couple of coiled rods protruding from the sides) yet another gravitational wave spread across the hillside followed by a whoosh of air. The young boy slumped forward, headless as blood rolled out of his neck and spilt upon the fresh grass. His head had seemingly imploded but there was nothing left. Not a spatter of blood or tidbit of bone. Not a morsel of ear nor even a flock of hair.

His peers stared momentarily with blank faces, frowned in disappointment and then turned and went about their play... transponders blinking in unison, lights dancing in their ears as they galloped down the hill. A large bird resembling a very large vulture swooped down upon the corpse and pounced upon its newfound meal. With its two powerful talons it grabbed the child and flew off not even making a single sound from its large beak.

The dark figure gazed down at the town and the children as they ran off. Though you couldn't see it, a cracked grin appeared on his face as he looked down at his arm, pressed a button and within seconds a third, yet definitive gravitational wake passed through the grass bending it inwards towards the figure all but briefly until he vanished. A glint and a sparkle pierced through the sky all but instantly afterwards and then he was gone as fast as he came.

Life went on.

*dreamy music ends*

And so you have it. Will the sheep be led blindly ignorant of their world or will this company realize the opportunity it has by pursuing some form of legal action against this "Media Exploiter." It is their choice. It is their decision. They can turn a blind eye and move on as if nothing had happened or they can do something about it.

Whether Media Defender is trying to enforce the law or not, clearly they are not deputized nor do they possess a Juris Doctorate.




RE: A Travesty, plain and simple
By Lerianis on 6/4/2008 3:45:17 PM , Rating: 2
The frightening thing about the story in your post: we are moving closer and closer towards that world every single day, where people are killed and marginalized just for thinking differently than the 'sheeple'.


By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 4:19:44 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The frightening thing about the story in your post: we are moving closer and closer towards that world every single day, where people are killed and marginalized just for thinking differently than the 'sheeple'.


It is frightening what the world is turning into. We need to do everything that we can to make sure that we are not living in the story's world in the future.

Great story, MrBlastman. I'd rate you up if I could. You should really find a way to make it so that other people can read it.


So much for the separation of powers...
By Proteusza on 6/4/2008 8:45:15 AM , Rating: 2
So now MediaDefender decides who is guilty and then decides on a punishment? And the FBI says it is "investigating"?

I think its becoming clear that the lines between government, corporation and law are becoming more and more blurred. No doubt nothing will happen to MediaDefender for this, in fact, when ACTA is approved, they wil become the official government body for enforcing copyright.




By Schrag4 on 6/4/2008 9:19:58 AM , Rating: 2
There's a word to describe MediaDefender's behavior perfectly: vigilante


...
By Quiescent on 6/4/2008 9:20:50 AM , Rating: 1
They shouldn't even be allowed to do DoS attacks. Just goes to show how messed up the US government is.




RE: ...
By imperator3733 on 6/4/2008 10:29:49 AM , Rating: 2
DOS attacks are illegal in pretty much every country, including the US.


dos attacks are illegal
By lazylazyjoe on 6/4/2008 10:25:53 AM , Rating: 3
in almost every country. What is really bad is they start these attacks automatically. But, who has the money and time to sue someone backed by some of the largest companies. It would take several years and probably a couple hundred thousand in legal fees just to see a result. Welcome to the land of get away with what you want if you have enough money.




PR bulls**t
By Screwballl on 6/4/2008 12:16:06 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
MediaDefender claims that they have taken steps to ensure this won’t happen again. “We’ve added a policy that will investigate open public trackers to see if they are associated with other companies”, promised Grodsky, “and first will make a communication that says, hey are you aware of this.”


Yeah right! The very company at the base of illegal and underhanded schemes that brought Revision3 down in the first place is not going to concede that they will continue business as usual, they "claim" they will change but in the end, nothing at all will change within MediaDefender. The history of the company has proven that.

I hope the FBI brings them down hard and shuts down their entire corporation.




But... that's illegal
By DOSGuy on 6/4/2008 8:38:04 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
“If a tracker was previously open and suddenly shut, their systems are automatically configured to put them out of business,” said Louderback.


Okay, so MediaDefender didn't know that it was Revision3's tracker. That still doesn't explain the DoS attack. DoS attacks are illegal.




Aaah....
By DASQ on 6/4/2008 9:09:36 AM , Rating: 2
So you're above the law.

I see what you did there.




Oops...
By amanojaku on 6/4/2008 10:45:49 AM , Rating: 2
<payback>
Looks like I "forgot" to check my DoS bot and I killed off MediaDefender's servers. But it's ok, because I meant to aim it at nefarious bittorrent sites, eh? So you FBI guys can just go home now. :)
</payback>




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