Below is a press release from our New York MAG-Net anchor, May First/People Link, whose servers were hit with a DOS attack (Denial of Service). The attacks seem to be directed at Palestinian rights organizations whose websites are supported by May First/People Link. For more information or interview requests contact Alfredo Lopez ([email protected]).
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2014
Contact: Alfredo Lopez ([email protected]; 347-675-0953)
May First/People Link Servers Hit by DOS Attack
Believe Attack was Aimed at Palestine Rights Organizations
A Denial of Service (DOS) attack against websites on the May First/People Link (MF/PL) servers saturated our upstream Internet connection and almost completely shut down all the organizations membership websites for nearly three hours.
While affecting more than half of MF/PL’s members’ operations, the attack was apparently aimed at two member organizations that work for Palestinian rights. Both sites are now running normally.
The attack began at about 6:00 am (U.S. Eastern) and was resisted by MF/PL technologists who restored service by 8:45 am. to all servers. The target sites were brought back on-line about an hour after that.
A Denial of Service attack floods an Internet server with requests for site pages or useless connections at an extremely rapid rate, forcing the servers to surpass their normal capability for serving pages. Servers that reach this state shut down or greatly curtail service and that is what happened this morning.
There were no communications connected to the DOS attack but the specifics of the attack strongly indicate that one or both of the sites were the targets and MF/PL leaders today indicated that the timing makes them completely sure this is the case.
“Given the recent events in Gaza, we had expected some response of this type,” MF/PL Leadership Committee member Alfredo López said. “Our position is as it has always been: people, particularly oppressed and attacked people like Palestinians, have the absolute right to communicate with the entire world. That’s a position the world takes particularly given the vicious, near-genocidal attacks on Gaza. The borders, fences and walls that imprison the people in Gaza do not exist on the Internet; we are here to make sure that continues.”
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May First/People Link is a membership organization dedicated to the defense of the Internet and the sharing, among its members, of website and email resources. It is comprised of 850 organizations and individuals in the United States and Mexico and is one of the largest politically progressive organizations in the U.S.
