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When is the last time someone launched a massively successful attack like the one on Skype without claiming credit for it? Napoleon once said, "Never ascribe t

by palish 19y ago

When is the last time someone launched a massively successful attack like the one on Skype without claiming credit for it? Napoleon once said, "Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence."

cperciva 19y ago
What makes you think that whoever launched this attack against Skype (assuming that it was an attack) hasn't taken credit for it? Denial of service extortion (historically, most often against online gambling websites) is a thriving business; but you don't need to take credit publicly to get paid. There's also the possibility of profitting from Skype's outage without even taking credit privately, simply by using the advance knowledge that an attack will take place to make profitable trades on the stock market.
- palish 19y ago
  I see. So the Skype PR team was sitting around, possibly even delaying the relaunch... - Harp plays, scene fades in - "Neil, what's going on with the spin? We need that spin! We've just finished hiding the build numbers. Marketing has never been happier, so we can't afford anyone to know that we've been attacked now!" yelled Niklas, his ears flattening against his head. Being Supreme Skype Commander was hard work, and it was not made easier by this doofus from PR. Neil glanced back, mildly annoyed. "I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it. Okay, hey, guys, a meteor. No wait, Velociraptors. Damn, no.." They were all huddled in the conference room. Management had commanded them to stay late two days in a row now, until 6 PM. No one wanted to stay an hour late another day. Suddenly, Tamma burst in. "I've got it! There was a windows update! It happened to coincide with the attack. We're saved!" Everyone cheered, picking Tamma up and carrying her high in the air. Neil remained seated, slumped, head down. "I still liked the Velociraptors.." he mumbled. "Me TOO!" It came from behind him. Neil had just enough time to turn around and scream in shock and horror before the Velociraptor jumped on him. - Harp plays again, scene fades out - I'm thinking no.

by palish 19y ago

cperciva 19y ago

What makes you think that whoever launched this attack against Skype (assuming that it was an attack) hasn't taken credit for it? Denial of service extortion (historically, most often against online gambling websites) is a thriving business; but you don't need to take credit publicly to get paid. There's also the possibility of profitting from Skype's outage without even taking credit privately, simply by using the advance knowledge that an attack will take place to make profitable trades on the stock market.

palish 19y ago
I see. So the Skype PR team was sitting around, possibly even delaying the relaunch... - Harp plays, scene fades in - "Neil, what's going on with the spin? We need that spin! We've just finished hiding the build numbers. Marketing has never been happier, so we can't afford anyone to know that we've been attacked now!" yelled Niklas, his ears flattening against his head. Being Supreme Skype Commander was hard work, and it was not made easier by this doofus from PR. Neil glanced back, mildly annoyed. "I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it. Okay, hey, guys, a meteor. No wait, Velociraptors. Damn, no.." They were all huddled in the conference room. Management had commanded them to stay late two days in a row now, until 6 PM. No one wanted to stay an hour late another day. Suddenly, Tamma burst in. "I've got it! There was a windows update! It happened to coincide with the attack. We're saved!" Everyone cheered, picking Tamma up and carrying her high in the air. Neil remained seated, slumped, head down. "I still liked the Velociraptors.." he mumbled. "Me TOO!" It came from behind him. Neil had just enough time to turn around and scream in shock and horror before the Velociraptor jumped on him. - Harp plays again, scene fades out - I'm thinking no.