MediaDefender Behind the Attack on Revision3
MediaDefender is a company that acts on behalf of other media companies to muck up P2P and file sharing networks. They're the ones seeding BitTorrent with fake files - a tactic they hope will make filesharing appear to be too much of a hassle and therefore not worth the effort. In September of last year, MediaDefender was in the news for some leaked emails which helped The Pirate Bay prove that the company had hired professional hackers and saboteurs to bring down the world-famous file-trading site. Now, it seems MediaDefender is at it again. This time their target was Revision3, home to popular shows like Diggnation, Tekzilla, Systm, and The GigaOm Show.
A post on the Rev3 blog today reveals that the company responsible for this weekend's DoS attack on their servers was none other than MediaDefender.
Revision3 uses Bittorrent to help distribute their shows across the web by running their own tracker which coordinates the sharing and downloading of their content. Despite this perfectly legal and legitimate practice, MediaDefender set their sights on Revision3's servers and flooded them with SYN packets, effectively shutting them down.
What's even stranger is that MediaDefender didn't even bother to spoof the packets they sent - each one was easily traceable. As Jim Louderback explains it on the Rev3 blog, "it's as if they wanted us to know who they were."
The real question now is who hired MediaDefender to do this damage? The company acts on behalf of its clients, who in the past have included Sony, Universal Music, the RIAA, and the MPAA. One can only imagine that today's list of old media companies fearing Revision3's success is a mile long.
Once Louderback determined MediaDefender was behind the attack, he got on the phone to the ArtistDirect interim CEO Dimitri Villard (MediaDefender is a subsidiary of Artist Direct) and Ben Grodsky, Vice President of Operations at Media Defender. Villard admitted that MediaDefender had been abusing Revision3's network for months, allowing them to use the tracking server to point to non-Revision3 files. When Rev3 noticed that and began to de-authorize those rogue files, it set off the flood of SYN packets which were attempting to reconnect to the files stored on the company's servers. Although Grodsky admits that his servers sent the packets, he claimed it was only every three hours. Rev3's logs show 8,000+ packets per second.
Why Hasn't MediaDefender Been Shut Down?
To sum up, MediaDefender was using Revision3's server without approval, they appear to be lying about the level of the attack, and they had no business attacking Revision3 in the first place since the company runs a legitimate business that just happens to use Bittorrent as a distribution technology.
In the end, Louderback concludes "I don't think Media Defender deliberately targeted Revision3 specifically...the company has a history of using their servers to launch denial of service attacks against distributors. They saw us as a "distributor"..." We're not so sure, but it looks like it's now going to be up to the FBI to sort it out, since they have been contacted and are now involved.
Ultimately, the situation again brings to light the very questionable business tactics of MediaDefender itself. If traditional media companies are using MediaDefender as a hired gun to attack "illegal" filesharing networks and a side effect of those attacks is the takedown of a legitimate business, then it's time this information was publicly revealed and addressed in a court of law. Enough with the vigilante tactics - it's time MediaDefender was shut down for good themselves.
Image courtesy of Revision3
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Amazing. Simply amazing. File under "for every DDOS attack, someone downloads another illegal file." Or, translated for the obviously clueless MediaDefender, this is why the young'uns don't have any respect for the authority that says they shouldn't download illegal files. You have to earn respect.
Sarah -
Looks like we're thinking along the same lines:
MediaDefender may not be fighting piracy, but fighting P2p distribution because it can level the playing field for new media companies like Revision3.
Nice to see FBI is getting involved in the incident, this will stop many from attacking other web sites. If there is some punishment for doing DDoS, it will stop.
MediaDefender is what i like to call A HATER!
If that is the case...that may be one of the dumbest moves I have ever seen. stress "ever". R3 should create a network of shows that does nothing but blast this company. IMO
g
if any individual did this to a site they would be facing jail time and massive fines.
I DEMAND THE SAME BE DONE TO MEDIADEFENDERS EMPLOYEES!
It's only fair. Jail the bastards.
How come no is yet in jail?
If some 14 yr old 'Mafiaboy' committed two crimes like that, he'd be in jail right now with all his computers and equipment confiscated, never to be seen again intact, then the heads of MediaDefender should be in jail too.
I know that in the home of democracy, there is different justice for different people, but there is NO reason why they shouldnt be jailed UNTIL the investigation is completed.
Im pretty sure that any other DoS perpretator would have spent the night in lockup, sleeping with one eye open.
I hope that REV3 sues their asses off and that the Feds find out one whose behalf MediaDefender was acting. Maybe the fear of violent ass raping in jail (police love the to use this threat on the small, scare and weak) will scare the crap out of Randy Saaf. Considering what he does, it would be ironic justice.
"and they had no business attacking Revision3 in the first place since the company runs a legitimate business that just happens to use Bittorrent as a distribution technology."
Since when is attacking anyone legal? Even if it was site doing illegal business than another company isn't allowed to attack them. There is a reason why laws exists...
It's a war between companies and pirates. We know that private, for-profit corporations will wage digital war to protect their business.
"they had no business attacking Revision3 in the first place since the company runs a legitimate business that just happens to use Bittorrent as a distribution technology."
Correction: MediaDefender has no business attacking *anyone* in the first place, because it's illegal! Two wrongs don't make a right. Whether or not MediaDefender considers any service legitimate or not they are not the Internet Police, do not lend them any undue credibility or right of way. They are paid to inhibit activities that their clients don't like, and they appear to be doing so, if this information is accurate, in a way that would land you or I in prison.
i really doubt the fbi thing.. where is this clearly backed up, and what was the comlaint that was made... something tweaks my shi- detector on this
and if they are invovled, if, i would think it is only so that can learn more about the game, they surely won't shut down medidefender, who i would not be surprised to find has some silent partners as investors ... think feds on that
The FBI will not do a damn thing because MediaDefender is working on behalf of the RIAA and the MPAA, and the FBI supports the RIAA's and MPAA's objectives. MediaDefender is one of the good guys as far as the FBI is concerned, and in the USA you can get away with just about any unlawful act if you are viewed by the State as one of the good guys. MediaDefender will simply claim a programming glitch or some such and the case will be dropped. Now, if the DoS attack was instead the work of some teenage hacker then the full force of the Federal government would be brought to bear.
MediaDefender brake the law, the rights of company and citizen.
They are criminal.
They need to go in jail.
The law need to adjust themselves for those kind of "criminal" hacker and digital spy.
The internet don't need merc. warrior killing servers.
Jourdelune