AT&T Unblocks /b/

AT&T has unblocked /b/ claiming the initial block was due to a suspected DDoS attack coming from a 4chan.org IP address.

 

Beginning Friday, an AT&T customer was impacted by a denial-of-service attack stemming from IP addresses connected to img.4chan.org. To prevent this attack from disrupting service for the impacted AT&T customer, and to prevent the attack from spreading to impact our other customers, AT&T temporarily blocked access to the IP addresses in question for our customers. This action was in no way related to the content at img.4chan.org; our focus was on protecting our customers from malicious traffic.

Overnight Sunday, after we determined the denial-of-service threat no longer existed, AT&T removed the block on the IP addresses in question. We will continue to monitor for denial-of-service activity and any malicious traffic to protect our customers.

 

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26970

 

Time will tell if this is true or not, but it seems unlikely that that 4chan.org was the source of a DDoS…in fact, by definition, a single IP CANT be a DDoS, either way, the ban is lifted and it was smart of AT&T to do so.

Bookmark this post:

A War is Brewing…

In what might be one of the companies biggest mistakes, AT&T has decided to block /b/ for many of its customers.

/b/ for those who don't know, is a dark corner of the  internet that only the brave should venture, (seriously, not for the faint of heart), and it the epicenter of 4chan.org and home to anonymous.

Moot, founder of 4chan, has acknowledged the issue:

 

It's come to our attention that AT&T is filtering/blocking img.4chan.org (/b/ & /r9k/) for many of their customers. There is no remedy at this time.
If you've been affected, I would advise you call or write customer support and corporate immediately.

 

Calls for Pizza Delivery to AT&T store, attacks on the AT&T network, and many other actions (most high juvenile, other highly sophisticated) are being called for.

Think about your next steps very carefully AT&T. You are a very large company with billions of dollars to lose, these are a group of internet users, with little to nothing to lose, and have a history of doing damage to those who they dislike, imagine what they will do to someone targeting them…

 

Will AT&T be the next Hal Turner, Scientology, or Kenny Glenn? Time will tell.

Bookmark this post: