WordPress hit by 'extremely large' DDoS attack

[DainBramaged]

Blog host WordPress.com is currently the target of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack the company is describing as the largest in its history.

As a result, a number of blogs--including those that are a part of WordPress' VIP service, have suffered connectivity issues.

According to a post by Automattic employee Sara Rosso on the company's VIP Lobby (which is currently down but has been archived on Twitpic by Graham Cluley over at Naked Security), the size of the attack is "multiple Gigabits per second and tens of millions of packets per second." Rosso says the company is in the process of putting a stop to the attack but that "it is proving rather difficult."

Rosso also said the company will be handling its VIP sites ahead of general users.

Update at 10:35 a.m.: In an e-mail to CNET, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg said the attack had affected three of the company's data centers, and was the largest its seen in the company's six-year history. Mullenweg also said that the attack "may have been politically motivated against one of our non-English blogs," but that that detail had not been confirmed. Full e-mail below:

There's an ongoing DDoS attack that was large enough to impact all three of our data centers in Chicago, San Antonio, and Dallas--it's currently been neutralized but it's possible it could flare up again later, which we're taking proactive steps to implement.

This is the largest and most sustained attack we've seen in our six-year history. We suspect it may have been politically motivated against one of our non-English blogs but we're still investigating and have no definitive evidence yet.

The company has also posted a notice on its product uptime status blog:


WordPress' uptime notice.

(Credit: CNET)

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20038874-83.html#ixzz1FZ4N30LR

[AnneD]

1. They are ratcheting up...

to apply the kill switch in this country.... It's for our own good you know.

[TheWraith]

13. Could you explain how one thing connects to the other?

Because it doesn't.

[AnneD]

18. Try these......

Homeland Security shuts down dozens of Web sites without court order

/www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/26/homeland-security-shuts-dozens-sites/#


or this...

Department of Homeland Security Shuts Down Websites

http://www.techs-on-call.biz/blog/post.cfm/department-of-homeland-security-shuts-down-websites

They will state that sites are under attack and to 'protect us' will start closing off site, especially those that are un american like wikileaks or such. Then they will then roll out the security measures that can become monitoring devices with the flick of a switch like this...


School used student laptop web cams to spy on them at school and home

http://boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html

And they can interrupt your activities to give you the latest update from the President of Big Sis.

[Newest Reality]

2. Things are heating up

and that might be a good thing if it stimulates people to understand what is happening to them and why.

Mercy sakes, we seems to be havin' some cyber-war goin' on.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Our own WCGreen blogs with WordPress...

But there are no connectivity issues with his blog, thank goodness.

I wish them well in their work against the forces that are attacking them.

[Ninga]

6. What's the name of his blog?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. "My Lung Transplant Years."

It's a fascinating read about his illness and how he's getting ready for being on the transplant list. He also goes into his background and growing up to show how his life has contributed to all of this.

:hi:

[texshelters]

11. Pimp your blog with a link

kind sir or madam.

http://texshelters.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/we-need-to-act-now-while-people-are-down-and-deficits-are-high-by-tex-shelters/

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. It's not my blog, lol!

WCGreen is a friend of mine...

And here's the link:

http://mylungtransplantyears.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!

:hi:

[texshelters]

14. So were you lying when you said

"our own". It sounds like ownership to me.

Thanks for the link.

This one is "my own" http://texshelters.wordpress.com/

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. I said "our own WCGreen"

As in he belongs to DU, as do you and I...

I was not lying.

:eyes:

[texshelters]

21. "our own"

Last I checked, that meant ownership.

Don't take it too seriously, I am playing on the words we use.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[Blue_In_AK]

20. Are we pimping blogs?

Here's a link to my daughter's (and she is a DU member, although she doesn't post much): http://alaskatoaustralia.wordpress.com/

[Renew Deal]

4. I wonder who it's against...

Wordpress is a very popular service which is used by many MSM types like CNN and mostly regular people.

[tabatha]

5. My wordpress blog

is hosted by the host of my own site - I do not have a problem.

[texshelters]

10. Tex Shelters is up too

but I KNOW I am the target just like Glenn Beck KNOWS that the Obama is a socialist Muslim, Fascist Nazi.

http://texshelters.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/we-need-to-act-now-while-people-are-down-and-deficits-are-high-by-tex-shelters/

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[autorank]

8. Wrong site to attack

They have an amazing standard of service considering all that they do.

This will end and I bet they find out who did it. I love the organization, very positive group.

[Kurovski]

16. Why don't they say what "launguage" they speak of? If it's Arabic

that would explain why the powersthat-be might do it. Maybe someone don't like the quality of some blags? Or maybe it's those punk-ass kids down the block who keep walking on my lawn?

:hi:

[texshelters]

9. They are going after Tex Shelters, I know it...

http://texshelters.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/we-need-to-act-now-while-people-are-down-and-deficits-are-high-by-tex-shelters/

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[jwirr]

15. That would make some sense. The rich just trying to shut down any

protest.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. My daughter's blog is on Wordpress,

and she's working fine.