Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission + - FCC should prove DDoS attacks stopped net neutrality comments (networkworld.com)

Submitted by Michelle Davidson
Michelle Davidson writes: After John Oliver urged viewers of HBO's Last Week Tonight to fight again for net neutrality and post comments in support of it, people hit a wall — the FCC's site essentially crashed.

Originally, it was believed that the number of people trying to access the site caused the problem, but then the FCC released a statement saying "multiple" DDoS attacks — occurring at the same time Oliver sent viewers to the site — caused the site to crash.

“These were deliberate attempts by external actors to bombard the FCC’s comment system with a high amount of traffic to our commercial cloud host. These actors were not attempting to file comments themselves; rather they made it difficult for legitimate commenters to access and file with the FCC.”

The group Fight for the Future doesn't buy it, though, and wants proof. It says the FCC should release the logs.

"The FCC should immediately release its logs to an independent security analyst or major news outlet to verify exactly what happened last night. The public deserves to know, and the FCC has a responsibility to maintain a functioning website and ensure that every member of the public who wants to submit a comment about net neutrality has the ability to do so. Anything less is a subversion of our democracy."

No word yet from the FCC on whether it will release its logs, leading the interwebs to speculate about whether it was actually an attack to prevent commenting or if the FCC is ill-prepared to handle large amounts of traffic and blamed DDoS attacks to cover their inabilities. People are even questioning whether the FCC's tech team knows what a DDoS attack is.

Submission + - Tunnel Collapses At Nuclear Facility Once Called 'An Underground Chernobyl' (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Managers at the Hanford Site in Washington State told workers to “take cover” Tuesday morning after a tunnel leading to a massive plutonium finishing plant collapsed. The emergency is especially worrisome, since Hanford is commonly known as “the most toxic place in America,” with one former governor calling it “an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen.” Worrisome might actually be an understatement. An emergency has been declared. The accident occurred near the 200 East Area, the home of several solid waste sites. More specifically, the tunnel that collapsed was one filled with highly radioactive train cars that once carried spent fuel rods containing deeply dangerous plutonium and uranium from a reactor on the Columbia River to the processing facility. Those reactors once produced plutonium for America’s nuclear arsenal, though production ended in 1980. The cleanup process that followed has gone on for nearly 30 years. Back to the poor workers, though. They’ve been instructed to stay indoors, and one manager reportedly sent out a message telling workers to “secure ventilation in your building” and “refrain from eating or drinking.” When you can’t even have a glass of water, you know the nuclear emergency is bad.

Comment Try the HTML 5 Canvas (Score 1) 331

by andyverbunt (#34363208) Attached to: What 2D GUI Foundation Do You Use?

Why don't you try the HTML 5 Canvas?
HTML 5 is an emerging technology (or rather a set of technologies), and since it's a personal project anyway, you'll have a good opportunity to learn something new.
Once the technology matures, and your project is finished, you'll be able to disclose your application in most modern browsers (including Safari on iPhone, iPad, etc.)

Comment Attacking and Defending the Grid (Score 2, Insightful) 227

by andyverbunt (#34149290) Attached to: Evaluating Or Testing Utility SCADA Security?

I recently went to a Belgian OWASP meeting where Justin Searle talked about "Attacking and Defending the Grid".
This guy knows what he's talking about. Among other things, he also mentioned SCADA vulnerabilities.

I recommend you contact him or his company for professional advice (I am in no way affiliated with him or his company - just thought you might be interested)

If you google for the subject of this reply in combination with "OWASP", you'll find more info about the talk.
Open Source

Myst Online: Uru Live Returns As Free-To-Play 58

Posted by Soulskill from the uru-is-dead-long-live-uru dept.
agrif writes "Shorah b'shemtee! Uru Live has been released for free, as a first step towards opening its source. This game, an MMO released by the makers of Myst and Riven in 2003, has been canceled, zombified, resurrected, canceled again, and is now about to be released as open source to its dedicated fan base. Massively has written a brief newbie guide if you're unfamiliar with the game."
Science

Israeli Scientists Freeze Water By Warming It 165

Posted by timothy from the you-must-become-the-frozen-water dept.
ccktech writes "As reported by NPR and Chemistry world, the journal Science has a paper by David Ehre, Etay Lavert, Meir Lahav, and Igor Lubomirsky [note: abstract online; payment required to read the full paper] of Israel's Weizmann Institute, who have figured out a way to freeze pure water by warming it up. The trick is that pure water has different freezing points depending on the electrical charge of the surface it resides on. They found out that a negatively charged surface causes water to freeze at a lower temperature than a positively charged surface. By putting water on the pyroelectric material Lithium Tantalate, which has a negative charge when cooler but a positive change when warmer; water would remain a liquid down to -17 degrees C., and then freeze when the substrate and water were warmed up and the charge changed to positive, where water freezes at -7 degrees C."
Role Playing (Games)

Fallout: New Vegas Coming This Fall, Trailer Released 100

Posted by Soulskill from the out-is-still-falling dept.
Bethesda announced today that Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled for release sometime this fall, and they released a trailer as well. Details are scant yet on the official site, but they had this to say: "Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America's First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however — while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay. (* Should not be construed as a legally-binding claim.)"

Slashdot Top Deals

"How do I love thee? My accumulator overflows."

Close