Freethought & Rationalism Archive

David M. Payne · 07-21-2003, 03:14 PM

Just got this E-Mail from my IP:

David

Dear Customer:

Our providers of 'backbone' Internet connections informed us this morning that we should expect periods tonight during which you will not be able to browse the Internet or check your email. We regret that there's nothing we can do to prevent this downtime. We have been promised that these problems will not start until 10pm and will be cleared by 6am Tuesday, but, as we explain below, it could start earlier.

THE DETAILS

The Internet 'backbone' consists of thousands of miles of fiber optic cable and thousands of routers. Routers are just computers with special software, mostly from Cisco Systems.

A hacker has figured out how to disrupt service for companies that use Cisco routers, so Cisco has distributed a new version of their software. Every major backbone provider is installing and testing that software. Our backbone providers have made it urgent enough that they tried to install the new software on Friday. Something didn't work right and they're trying again tonight.

We assume that companies all around the world are trying this fix, mostly at Midnight their time, which could be anytime for us.

Right now the whole Internet backbone is slow. We believe it will stay that way until 10pm tonight, at which time the Internet may become unavailable until sometime later in the middle of the night.

We hope that this advance warning is of assistance to you. If you have any questions, please call us.

Marduk · 07-21-2003, 03:22 PM

"Is your IP shutting down tonight"

Not that I am aware of, but I live in PA.

Shai Hulud · 07-21-2003, 03:25 PM

Check with your provider if you care about this, or delete it.
It smells like a fake but it could be real (badly explained though).
It's true that there is a problem with Cisco systems that could be used to cause serious problems. But I doubt that the entire internet would be down.
It's posible that the main connection for your provider will be down for a while. (Although I think most serious providers have multiple backbone connections).
It's not possible that the entire internet will be down.
The internet was originally designed to be able to survive nuclear attacks.
It can.

Shai-Hulud

AquaVita · 07-21-2003, 04:38 PM

Sounds like BS to me.

Godot · 07-21-2003, 06:39 PM

Funnily enough, mine shut down for a couple hours in the middle of the night for some "routine maintenance." Where are all the conspiracy theorists when you need them? They could spin this one into a doozy.

lisarea · 07-21-2003, 07:03 PM

There is an exploit to all Cisco routers using IPv4 that was published--along with a patch--on Cisco's website yesterday, and it could cause some kind of intermittent 'rolling blackouts,' depending on what exactly the fix entails. I dunno. I don't have a Cisco router, so I pretty much ignored the details.

Anyway, it's not a humongous deal, really, but there may be routers down here and there. Not all simultaneously or anything, though.

Glass*Soul · 07-21-2003, 10:03 PM

It's odd you should mention this. I had difficulty accessing the internet tonight. Then, as I browsed the various websites I frequent, I found that I had to login on each one, whereas I am generally automaticaly logged in.

lisarea · 07-21-2003, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Glass*Soul
It's odd you should mention this. I had difficulty accessing the internet tonight. Then, as I browsed the various websites I frequent, I found that I had to login on each one, whereas I am generally automaticaly logged in.

The difficulty accessing the internet part might be a problem with the routers, but the logging on problem sounds like your cookies were cleared out or something.

At any rate, neither is a problem to worry about. Once you've logged in again, the cookies will be reset.

Corona688 · 07-22-2003, 11:26 AM

This is hardly anything new... internet backbone providers are nearly ALWAYS the target of denial-of-service attacks and the like. The only difference this time is they know exactly how they're being attacked, and have a solution. Nice++.

Defiant Heretic · 07-24-2003, 03:30 AM

Clearly, the death of the internet is imminent.

(But seriously, if someone thinks that 'hackers' are going to try and take down the 'net, then more likely than not, they have no idea what they're talking about. Read this.)

07-21-2003, 03:14 PM	#1
David M. Payne Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The land of chain smoking, bible thumping, holy ro Posts: 1,248	Is your IP shutting down tonight? Just got this E-Mail from my IP: David Dear Customer: Our providers of 'backbone' Internet connections informed us this morning that we should expect periods tonight during which you will not be able to browse the Internet or check your email. We regret that there's nothing we can do to prevent this downtime. We have been promised that these problems will not start until 10pm and will be cleared by 6am Tuesday, but, as we explain below, it could start earlier. THE DETAILS The Internet 'backbone' consists of thousands of miles of fiber optic cable and thousands of routers. Routers are just computers with special software, mostly from Cisco Systems. A hacker has figured out how to disrupt service for companies that use Cisco routers, so Cisco has distributed a new version of their software. Every major backbone provider is installing and testing that software. Our backbone providers have made it urgent enough that they tried to install the new software on Friday. Something didn't work right and they're trying again tonight. We assume that companies all around the world are trying this fix, mostly at Midnight their time, which could be anytime for us. Right now the whole Internet backbone is slow. We believe it will stay that way until 10pm tonight, at which time the Internet may become unavailable until sometime later in the middle of the night. We hope that this advance warning is of assistance to you. If you have any questions, please call us.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

07-21-2003, 03:22 PM	#2
Marduk Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: the 10th planet Posts: 5,065	"Is your IP shutting down tonight" Not that I am aware of, but I live in PA.

07-21-2003, 03:25 PM	#3
Shai Hulud Regular Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Belgium Posts: 165	Check with your provider if you care about this, or delete it. It smells like a fake but it could be real (badly explained though). It's true that there is a problem with Cisco systems that could be used to cause serious problems. But I doubt that the entire internet would be down. It's posible that the main connection for your provider will be down for a while. (Although I think most serious providers have multiple backbone connections). It's not possible that the entire internet will be down. The internet was originally designed to be able to survive nuclear attacks. It can. Shai-Hulud

07-21-2003, 04:38 PM	#4
AquaVita Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Dallas Posts: 4,351	Sounds like BS to me.

07-21-2003, 06:39 PM	#5
Godot Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Calgary Posts: 1,335	Funnily enough, mine shut down for a couple hours in the middle of the night for some "routine maintenance." Where are all the conspiracy theorists when you need them? They could spin this one into a doozy.

07-21-2003, 07:03 PM	#6
lisarea Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Broomfield, Colorado, USA Posts: 5,550	There is an exploit to all Cisco routers using IPv4 that was published--along with a patch--on Cisco's website yesterday, and it could cause some kind of intermittent 'rolling blackouts,' depending on what exactly the fix entails. I dunno. I don't have a Cisco router, so I pretty much ignored the details. Anyway, it's not a humongous deal, really, but there may be routers down here and there. Not all simultaneously or anything, though.

07-21-2003, 10:03 PM	#7
Glass*Soul Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Beneath the Tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil. Posts: 985	It's odd you should mention this. I had difficulty accessing the internet tonight. Then, as I browsed the various websites I frequent, I found that I had to login on each one, whereas I am generally automaticaly logged in.

07-22-2003, 11:26 AM	#9
Corona688 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hiding from Julian ;) Posts: 5,368	This is hardly anything new... internet backbone providers are nearly ALWAYS the target of denial-of-service attacks and the like. The only difference this time is they know exactly how they're being attacked, and have a solution. Nice++.

07-24-2003, 03:30 AM	#10
Defiant Heretic Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,288	Clearly, the death of the internet is imminent. (But seriously, if someone thinks that 'hackers' are going to try and take down the 'net, then more likely than not, they have no idea what they're talking about. Read this.)

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.