Bonum Certa Men Certa

Cyberattacks on SUEPO Server Raise More Questions

World Cyber Games 2004



Summary: Several sites that are critical of the EPO's management seem to have become prominent targets of 'script kiddies'

Cyberattacks are a tricky thing to tackle. Systems analysis is hard because of the topology of the Internet (hopping possible, no fixed addresses, etc.) and administrations know the absolute limitations because other than pattern spotting not much can be done, especially when it comes to spotting the source of such attacks in a world full of zombies, botnets, and other consequences of back doors in Internet-connected proprietary software.



Last year our multi-layer servers infrastructure came under attacks which targeted both Tux Machines and Techrights. It started around the same time we published the EPO revelations, so when the webhost asked me if I could think of anyone who had the motivation to attack I said that I could think of nothing except the EPO series (although I was very hesitant to assume the EPO would resort to such attacks). These attacks lasted several months, often coinciding or intensifying with our release of EPO-related documents. Tux Machines does not have enemies because it mostly syndicates news.

"Maybe all these attacks are just a mere coincidence without correlation, but the fact remain that many critics of The EPO’s Vice-President Željko Topić suffer one way or another."Several months went by and another Web site critical of the EPO (especially the Vice-President, Željko Topić) said it had been cracked. Weeks later we learned that another such site, also critical of the EPO's Vice-President, feared retribution and decided to delete documents relating to the EPO Vice-President (knowing that he not only berates but also bullies his critics using lawsuits and apparent requests for removal/apology). Last week we learned that SUEPO, which is the staff union of the EPO (known for criticism of the EPO's notorious Vice-President), had been "cracked" based on some sources. That claim may not have been accurate because based on the following text, which appeared yesterday on the SUEPO Web site, it was a DDOS attack combined with/related to brute-force cracking attempts. "We don't have any more details beyond this," told us the source who passed us the following text (statement from SUEPO):

"The SUEPO websites were unreachable on Thursday 5 February 2015 because of a cyber attack (of the Denial of Service type). The attackers also attempted an SSH brute-force attack to take control of the server. Such attacks constitute a violation of law and SUEPO has filed criminal charges against unknown and will cooperate with the German and Dutch authorities, who are now investigating the matter."

Some comments (scroll down) in IPKat say that many of the offending addresses are in Belgium, but many are also in east Asia.

On Sunday we published an important batch of documents about the EPO's notorious Vice-President, whereupon over 50,000 cracking/login attempts were made in just 15 hours, bringing the site down for periods of time. This is not normal. Remember that when the EPO's management does not waste money 'planting' articles in the media and bullying staff it is paying a Stasi-like unit to conduct surveillance on staff. Such units have no ethics whatsoever, so consider what they're after (e.g. harvesting of IP addresses).

Maybe all these attacks are just a mere coincidence without correlation, but the fact remain that many critics of The EPO’s Vice-President Željko Topić suffer one way or another. We are not going to be intimidated by legal threats or technical sabotage and as a result of these recent events we are encouraged to actually speed up release of incriminating/damaging documents, irrespective of who's behind these attacks.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Government Sites That Use Centralised CAs Are Still Remotely Controlled by MElon and GAFAM at the Oval Office
Even governments outside the US
Eternal Vigilance
I too received more death threats than I can recall over the years
Asking Journalists to Pay for Merely Reporting Violent Abuse Against Women (and Telling Them to Kill Themselves)
As regular readers are likely aware by now, for material we published years ago some likely broke man without a proper job (except in a company made up or invented by him) wants money
Judgment translated to English in FINMA & Debian trademark fiasco
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Brigading (in Social Control Media) Did Not Silence the Creator of GNU/Linux
there are no impending talks at the moment
 
Credit Suisse collapse obfuscated Parreaux, Thiébaud & Partners scandal
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
New Richard Stallman Interview Published by Free University of Bozen-Bolzano a Day After His Talk There
We're not seeing any difficult or controversial questions
The Musk Slipped, Countries Need Digital Independence
What's happening in Germany this month might result in quicker adoption of Free software
Spanish Version of the Free Software Foundation's Book "Introduction to the Command Line"
The "GNU Press Shop [is] temporarily closed"
Dr. Andy Farnell Publishes Second Part of Series About Freedom Fighters (It Started With Richard Stallman)
A few minutes ago Dr. Farnell published the second part
Things That Were Presumed Public Enemy #1 (or Foremost Threat)
The world's most powerful military is now governed by clowns who don't know what the heck they're doing
Microsoft is Admitting That It Has No Viable Business Model, Starting to Experiment
Microsoft's proprietary spyware with ads cannot really compete with Calligra and LibreOffice
Bluewashing: IBM Replaces Red Hat With IBM (Bobby Leibrock) at the Top
Based on his education, Bobby is just some suit; he thinks of money, not tech
Links 25/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Starbucks, Kaspersky Banned on Australian Government Systems
Links for the day
Links 25/02/2025: Strawberry Lemonade, Introducing Fiss, and YouTube Acting Aggressive
Links for the day
UK: Twitter Falls to Lowest Traffic Levels in 5 Years (Start of Lockdowns), Down From More Than 37% to Only 6.5%
Months ago Twitter (aka "X") was blasted by the British government for inciting right-wing violence
Confirmed: IBM Layoffs Will Strike Consulting Quite Hard
the flagging of staff is a way to signal to them it's time to go or get the boot
Sami Tikkanen Explains What Happened to Computer Science Education in Finland and Elsewhere
The 'broligarchs', a collective which typically created anything of their own, do not want the general population to possess skills that let it be anything other than passive consumers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 24, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 24, 2025
Truth is Not About Appeasing the Feelings of Men Who Hurt Women
True information is just what it is
Links 24/02/2025: Compromised Laptops and EU Shift to the Right (Boosted by Social Control Media Interventions)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/02/2025: Politics, Monarchy, and AuraRepo Prism VCS Suppor
Links for the day
Links 24/02/2025: Germany Looks to Distance Itself From US, Environment at Risk, Mass Layoffs at Zendesk
Links for the day
[Meme] It's Over, Microsoft
an obligatory meme
Even Worse Than LLM Slop and Linkspam From UNIXMen
UNIXMen is basically a defunct spamfarm at this point (the author is "sarwarSEO")
Proprietary Software is Bad for Your Health, Not Just Your Finances, Privacy and So On
It would be interesting to see some charts, based on some long-term study, comparing the general health (blood pressure, BMI etc.) of people who use proprietary stuff and people who do not
Gemini Links 24/02/2025: Osiris 0.1.0 Release (File Sharing in Gemini Protocol), NetBSD 10.1 on the Pi
Links for the day
Microsoft Admits Business Perils as Windows Continues to Fall
‘Microsoft missed the biggest business model…’
Technical Specifications at Times of Tyrannies
Specifications (specs) must evolve with the times
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 23, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 23, 2025
In Case Rust Censors It (Rust Has Long Been All About Censorship), Here's a Critical Look at Rust's Goals
In the case of Rust, instead of "the liberation of the digital society" we have empowerment of Microsoft GitHub and of GAFAM in general. Guess who funds this...
Gemini Links 23/02/2025: Respectful Platforms Manifesto and Internet Archive
Links for the day
The Significance of the Timing of the Ridiculous Letters From Brett Wilson LLP, Acting on Behalf of People From Microsoft
A preliminary look at the timeline and what it tells us
Politicians Ought to Invite Dr. Richard Stallman and Prof. Eben Moglen to Speak About Policies, Licensing, Digital Sovereignty
Is there something in Europe other than RMS' talk this coming Monday (that we're not yet aware of)?
The So-called 'IT' Industry Became Somewhat of a Fraud Where People Equate Usage and Power Wasted With "Value" or "Success"
When did 'IT' become a weapon rather than technology/science?
Things to Like About London
Many important or "powerful" people leave near there
Links 23/02/2025: Democracy Backsliding and German Election
Links for the day
Joining APRIL(.org), AGM weekend, Paris, 15-16 March 2025
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 23/02/2025: Zuckerberg Despised, US Government Does Not Obey Judges, France Grapples With Terrorism
Links for the day
Links 23/02/2025: Apple Back Doors, Ukraine Updates, and Gemini Leftovers
Links for the day
Recent Improvements in Techrights
minimalism works fine when the main goal is to relay information
Slopwatch: Brian Fagioli, Brittany Day (linuxsecurity.com), and Microsoft Misinformation, False Marketing
Serial Sloppers
Censored: Debian Zizian transgender vigilante comparisons in open source Linux communities
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 22, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 22, 2025