Minecraft was Destroying the Internet Even Before Ajit Pai

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
May 18, 1997
Messages
55,634
This is quite a long read over at Wired, but it is incredibly interesting if you are into network security. Long story short, it all started with some geeks trying to bring down competitive Minecraft servers were the guys responsible for all sorts of DDoS attacks last year.


THE MOST DRAMATIC cybersecurity story of 2016 came to a quiet conclusion Friday in an Anchorage courtroom, as three young American computer savants pleaded guilty to masterminding an unprecedented botnet—powered by unsecured internet-of-things devices like security cameras and wireless routers—that unleashed sweeping attacks on key internet services around the globe last fall. What drove them wasn’t anarchist politics or shadowy ties to a nation-state. It was Minecraft.
 
Speeeeeeeeergs!

giphy.gif


Slap 'em with 20 year sentences, do a little time and then commute their sentences with service for United States Cyber Command. Give 'em the Frank Abagnale treatment.
 
Honestly, how can we not expect problems with a connected society. My internet service is just fine for streaming and gaming.
 
Zion Halcyon said:
Cute title.

10r02si.jpg
Click to expand...

You know, except all the times where it wasn't. Except for the fact that the only reason Comcast ever followed NN rules before NN was enacted is because they had to or face millions in fines and possibly being forced to sell their ownership of NBCUniversal. Yep, totally fine. Nothing was ever wrong at all. We should totally trust ISPs to self-regulate because that works so fucking well in other industries.

Oh, and some of the regulations the FCC repelled have been in place since early dial-up days, some of which also helped keep ISPs in check
 
Last edited:
Thats an awesome read. I remember following that botnet when it happened. Figured it was NorKo or something behind it. But dudes playing minecraft? Can't wait for the book to come out.
 
A lot of people especially young people really don't understand what morals are in the context of computing. I guess they either are amoral people to begin with or somehow disconnect when it comes to tech. I know from playing CSGO there is an entire underground world of D/DoS going on. I know because I ran into a player that was trying to sell me this stuff and wanted to demonstrate it. A service scours existing data and websites to try and figure out what IP your account normally connects from and they build a database linking steam users to their IP. Then once they do that if someone pays for a DoS service they will attack you in game to remove you from the server, mostly its people in ranked matches. Then the irony of it all? The same group of people will allow you to pay them to protect you from being attacked by someone whom is paying them, extortion in a video game! You may of course guess what one group of people that purchase this service is, its people who carry players and are paid to rank you up. If they cant beat the other team they DoS their best player. And of course this kind of stuff goes down by semi legit players when they think another guy is hacking, or when hackers go against hackers at higher ranks and don't want OW bans. Getting really silly sometimes they will DoS their own teammates if their team mates are doing well and it looks to be an easy match so they can rack up more ELO.
 
Derangel said:
You know, except all the times where it wasn't. Except for the fact that the only reason Comcast ever followed NN rules before NN was enacted is because they had to or face millions in fines and possibly being forced to sell their ownership of NBCUniversal. Yep, totally fine. Nothing was ever wrong at all. We should totally trust ISPs to self-regulate because that works so fucking well in other industries.

Oh, and some of the regulations the FCC repelled have been in place since early dial-up days, some of which also helped keep ISPs in check
Click to expand...

Yep and except for the part where we pay more for slower speeds than many other countries.
 
Ultima99 said:
Yep and except for the part where we pay more for slower speeds than many other countries.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Some of the infrastructure mess of the US is understandable. Most other countries don't have the same kind of massive population spread as the US does. Its a lot easier, and cheaper, for smaller countries to roll out higher speed internet around since they deal with less landmass. That doesn't excuse most of the mess though or ISPs pocketing the money the government gave them to help the broadband rollout.
 
rudy said:
A lot of people especially young people really don't understand what morals are in the context of computing. I guess they either are amoral people to begin with or somehow disconnect when it comes to tech. I know from playing CSGO there is an entire underground world of D/DoS going on. I know because I ran into a player that was trying to sell me this stuff and wanted to demonstrate it. A service scours existing data and websites to try and figure out what IP your account normally connects from and they build a database linking steam users to their IP. Then once they do that if someone pays for a DoS service they will attack you in game to remove you from the server, mostly its people in ranked matches. Then the irony of it all? The same group of people will allow you to pay them to protect you from being attacked by someone whom is paying them, extortion in a video game! You may of course guess what one group of people that purchase this service is, its people who carry players and are paid to rank you up. If they cant beat the other team they DoS their best player. And of course this kind of stuff goes down by semi legit players when they think another guy is hacking, or when hackers go against hackers at higher ranks and don't want OW bans. Getting really silly sometimes they will DoS their own teammates if their team mates are doing well and it looks to be an easy match so they can rack up more ELO.
Click to expand...

Honestly, stuff like this is why I stopped playing any type of FPS online. Almost everyone cheats in some way. They feel like cheating is somehow 'getting back at the man'. That or they feel entitled to win at all costs. Who knows. But it definitely ruined almost all online gaming for me.
 
Bigshrimp said:
Talk about having the wrong priorities in life....
Click to expand...

As Peterson and Klein explored the Minecraft economy, interviewing server hosts and reviewing financial records, they came to realize how amazingly financially successful a well-run, popular Minecraft server could be. “I went into my boss’s office and said, ‘Am I crazy? It looks like people are making a ton of money,’” he recalls. “These people at the peak of summer were making $100,000 a month.”
Click to expand...

I dunno, man. Sure they were criminals, but with that incentive I can see how they would be tempted to think it wasn't anything the FBI would care about.
 
"So what are you in for?"

"I killed my cheating ass ex, how about you?"

"I hacked minecraft"
 
nomu said:
I dunno, man. Sure they were criminals, but with that incentive I can see how they would be tempted to think it wasn't anything the FBI would care about.
Click to expand...

Heh.

I don't have time to read the whole article now, but I will have to later. I have run many very popular game servers, including some of the top public CS servers on the web back in the day, and a couple of years ago contributing to the top Red Orchestra server on the planet, and none of these ever made any money. In fact, they cost a lot of it :p

I'm curious what their revenue sources are.
 
Last edited:
Zarathustra[H] said:
Heh.

I don't have tome to read the whole article now, but I will have to later. I have run many very popular game servers, including some of the top public CS servers on the web back in the day, and a couple of years ago contributing to the top Red Orchestra server on the planet, and none of these ever made any money. In fact, they cost a lot of it :p

I'm curious what their revenue sources are.
Click to expand...

They use client-compatible third-party server software to basically implement microtransactions in minecraft. So you can go buy items or whatever from the server's site. I assume somehow kids are getting the money to buy this stuff.
 
Ultima99 said:
Yep and except for the part where we pay more for slower speeds than many other countries.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure where you are coming from (dissent or agreement) - but you don't think the repeal of NN is going to increase speeds do you?
 
nomu said:
I dunno, man. Sure they were criminals, but with that incentive I can see how they would be tempted to think it wasn't anything the FBI would care about.
Click to expand...

Well anything that is criminal can be tempting, but not everyone is stupid enough to think they can get away with it forever.
 
haste. said:
I'm not sure where you are coming from (dissent or agreement) - but you don't think the repeal of NN is going to increase speeds do you?
Click to expand...

No I don't.

I was agreeing with the guy I was replying to who was pointing out how it wasn't all sunshine and roses before 2015.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top