Facebook, Twitter DDOS Linked To Georgian Blogger

Facebook has confirmed that it too was the subject of a DDOS attack on Thursday which it claims was aimed at the account of one Georgian Blooger.

The same blogger is believed to have accounts on Twitter, LiveJournal, Google Blogger and YouTube – some of which were also targetted by in the same attack, Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook told CNET News.

“It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard,” Kelly said. “We’re actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the back end and to take action against them if we can,” he told CNET.

The blogger in question, who used the name Cyxymu, believed to be the name of a town in Georgia, posted a message on his LiveJournal account which said:”Now it’s obvious it’s a special attack against me and Georgians.”

The other affected sites and US authorities have yet to confirm that Cyxymu was the main target of the attack.

The SANS Institute Internet Storm Center – which reports to be the Internet’s early warning centre – has not confirmed the links to the Georgian blogger but confirmed the attacks on Twitter and Facebook. “We don’t want to hype it anymore than already has been done by countless other news agencies, so unless something different happens, this is last we’ll report on it,” the site reported.

But commenting on the comments from Facebook about Cyxymu, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security software specialist Sophos, a pointed out that Friday 7 August is an important day in the conflict between Georgia and Russia which could explain the timing of the attack.

“Today isn’t just the day after Twitter disappeared for a few hours. It’s also the first anniversary of Georgian troops moving into South Ossetia, an incident which lead to conflict between the Russian and Georgian armies last year,” he said. “Perhaps surprisingly, the two may not be disconnected”

According to Cluley, the fact that an attack on one user could bring down Twitter was worrying. “This raises the astonishing thought that a vendetta against a single user caused Twitter to crumble, forcing us to ask serious questions about the site’s fragility.