Thread: RT.com (Russia Today) gets DDOS:ed

Since many of us work in IT here, I just wanted to share this interesting piece of news. RT has established itself as an alternative international news channel and it is getting increasingly popular around the world.

Today it got DDOSed by a group that is calling itself AntiLeaks. Apparently there is some kind of connection with RTs favourable coverage of Julian Assange and his plight.

Since DDOSing requires a certain amount of organisation, expense and contact (unless it's done by Anonymous) it's kind of interesting who is behind it and what the motivation is. Incidentally the DDOSing happened on the same day as the Pussy Riot trial which is the biggest piece of international news out of Russia at the moment...

The DDOS attack has been going on for about a day and the site is well and truly unaccessible.

http://www.rt.com/news/

It's working for me.

Scott

Anonymous would not shut down RT, I don't think. It's probably some right-wing hate group, or maybe even a government agency, because they view RT as "anti-American."

Originally Posted by Deborski

Anonymous would not shut down RT, I don't think. It's probably some right-wing hate group, or maybe even a government agency, because they view RT as "anti-American."

Yeah... but right "wing hate groups" are not usually massively IT savvy or geeks. And people who are IT savvy would not normally want to work with extreme right wing people.

To do a DDOS attack you basically need to have a botnet at your disposal (computers you infected with a virus that you control), or buy the services of somebody who does. (Other than "Anonymous" which does it by pure brute force/numbers - they have so many supporters and anyone can install the software and participate. )
Anonymous would never attack RT though.

And would a government agency really hire a botnet...? or horror, do they already have one of their own...`? The sleaziness of international politics never ceases to surprise me.

Of course, if it is true that they have hackers working for them to write the two viruses targetting the Siemens computers at the nuclear facilities in Iran.... then the same people can probably set them up a botnet too... But it's a scare new world.

Actually, I've known lots of IT people who are right-wing, at least in the US. There are even right-wing internet "trolls" who are paid by political parties to disrupt conversations on liberal internet sites.

It's really interesting how:

a) No real proof or evidence has been brought up here on this thread, confirming it to be a DDOS attack, which obviously can't be the case just because the site might have been down for some time (maybe they wanted to gain their popularity and just came up with some PR stuff?)

b) Scott's comment ruining the very basic idea of conspiracy against the channel was just completely ignored by the OP (who probably found it inconvenient in some way).

Oh yawn, Eric.. When are you going to make a remark that is actually a bit hard to counter?

1) Here are some independent stories about it (stating the obvious, since it took a 1 sec. search)

• Pussy Riot: AntiLeaks Launches DDoS Attack Against Russia Today - International Business Times UK ,
• WikiLeaks haters launch DDoS assault on Russia Today • The Register,
• Russia Today hit by DDoS as anti-Wikileaks group claims responsibility | ZDNet

The latter two (ZD Net and The Register) are leading IT news sites in case you did not know. That is apart from the fact that they mentioned it on the RT News.

2) The site was down for about 24 hours, I just happened to make my post at the end this period.

The group taking responsibility was called "anti leaks" - same group which ddosed wikileaks itself at the time of the big cable leak. Apparently they object to RTs coverage of the Assange affair.

RT was taken down by the: Zionist controlled New World Order and their puppets, FBI, NSA, CIA, Mossad, Israel, The Joos!, Western Media, (especially The BBC, Fox News, Comcast/NBC, MTV (and to a lesser extent VH1), CNN, and Your Local Broadcast News) The World Bank, Anti-Defamation-League, Assorted NGOs, UFOs, Gays, Lesbians, Thespians, The Catholic Church, Mormons, Joos, DAARPA, HARRP, The Alaska Radio Control Society, Joos, and Me.

But mostly the Joos.

Have you ever read the comments on their "News Articles"??? Do you want to be associated with them?
I'd be embarrassed to even mention them (RT) in public.

You seem so much smarter Hanna. Even with your Anti-American bias. By the way, it shows.

Just sayin'...

Actually, whenever I post stories from RT on facebook, I get attacked by right-wing conservative trolls who call it "Leninist-Marxist Propaganda" or somesuch.

Just sayin'.

Originally Posted by Deborski

Actually, whenever I post stories from RT on facebook, I get attacked by right-wing conservative trolls who call it "Leninist-Marxist Propaganda" or somesuch.

Just sayin'.

Just goes to show how clueless they are.

Just because you are not in bed with the USA, you are not necessarily a communist or anything like it.

The agenda of Russia and its ruling party is definitely not even remotely socialist.
RT is owned by the Russian state, and DOES take its line, loosely... hence, it is NOT left leaning in any form or shape.

But as it happens, many of the things RT reports on, particularly from EU countries are things that anyone can observe with their own eyes, but getting ignored by mainstream European media. Because of the media climate, at least in Europe (I can't speak for any other part of the world) RT fills an important niche.

Whether they are reporting accurately about internal news from Russia, I really couldn't say... I am well aware that they are not going to make any seriously critical reporting on the Russian government. No issue - I can open any mainstream European newspaper for that! They do do some very important reports from remote regions in Russia - places you would not be able to learn about otherwise.

It's kind of ironical, that 25 years ago, Russians had to get news from abroad to read about the true state of certain matters in their own country. Now, the situation is reversed to some extent.

It's kind of ironical, that 25 years ago, Russians had to get news from abroad to read about the true state of certain matters in their own country. Now, the situation is reversed to some extent.

I had the same thought!

Everyone knows that the US now looks like the late USSR, it's not a secret.

Originally Posted by Deborski

I had the same thought!

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

Originally Posted by Eric C.

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

The way things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if the same thing happens in America before long...

Originally Posted by Eric C.

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

Is there an actual law about that, or have you heard of anyone who got in trouble for it?

I doubt it, at least in modern times. All of the socialist states in Europe were quite keen not to be seen as dictatorships (although they ultimately largely failed). But blatantly banning access to foreign media would have been quite a giveaway. I doubt they did that and I think it was much more a case of that it simply was hard for people to get access to foreign media. I think I read that they actually jammed the signals of stations like Radio Free Europe.

In Finland at the time, it was well known that half of Estonia watched Finnish TV. Everyone in Finland knows this. I heard that people in Estonia had two antennas on the roofs - one for regular TV and one aimed towards Finland. I doubt people would have put up a second antenna if they had feared arrest! Not sure when glasnost kicked in, but I think this started long before that. And don't forget places like Germany where people could watch the other country's TV.

I would guess that the USSR did not import foreign newspapers though, at least not to sell to regular people in kiosks. But I think it's a simplified and incorrect view to say that they imprisoned people for accessing foreign media! However, if anyone has concrete information to the opposite, please say - it would be interesting to hear.

Originally Posted by Paul G

Everyone knows that the US now looks like the late USSR, it's not a secret.

Not too sure it looks like the USSR, but I get the gist of what you are saying. The tragic thing is that the majority of Americans are so utterly convinced that their country stands for ultimate freedom, when in reality things are moving further and further away from that, while power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small minority, all the while regular people are getting poorer by the month.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Is there an actual law about that, or have you heard of anyone who got in trouble for it?

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that.

And as for "the socialist states not being dictatorships" - did you know there were soldiers set up along the Berlin wall by the Stasi or some else GDR service, whose orders were to shoot anyone who attempted to get over the wall to get to the other side (typically, it all was eastern Germans trying to escape from the "socialist paradise"), without a single warning... ?

Originally Posted by Eric C.

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that.

(Deleted. L.)

Originally Posted by Eric C.

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that. ...

They lied. It's not true. I was listening to "Voice of America" all I wanted, except when it was jammed.

I think Western newspapers were sold somewhere too. Anyway they could not affect Soviet people much since they were in foreign languages.

Originally Posted by Lampada

They lied. It's not true. I was listening to "Voice of America" all I wanted, except when it was jammed.

It's fascinating to imagine what your world view was back then, and how it has changed now. How things change in life... ! You and a few people here, like Doomer and Crocodile too, have really fascinating lives... I mean growing up on one country in a a particular type of system, then moving to another continent and a very different type of system. And managing your private life & affairs at the sane time, and adjusting to big changes. It takes a really strong person...