Soapblox update

by: johne

01/08/09 @ 05:39:16 PM MST

To all customers, bloggers, and media.

Starting on Tuesday, some of the SoapBlox servers were infiltrated by a currently unknown source for unknown reasons.

SSH access was acquired by the hackers, where they were able to install port scanning scripts on to the machines.  SoapBlox servers were then being used to scan other servers across the Internet, looking for vulnerabilities.  

The disruption of service was caused by our ISP disconnecting the affected servers when they became aware of the port scanning.

The attack was limited in scope, effecting 4 separate SoapBlox servers.  While around 25 SoapBlox sites were offline, thousands of people were affected.

Steps are being taken now to identify who did this, and proper legal action will be taken.  If you have any insight on to who perpetrated this attack, please let us know.

At this time, all services are returned to normal.

We have many wonderful people now volunteering to ensure this doesn't happen again. Clean servers are being created, and existing sites will be migrated shortly on to these more secure servers.

Discussions are currently underway on how to best provide the SoapBlox service, continually improve it, and keep it funded in a way that keeps everything running smoothly.  Soon we will be establishing a way for you to help provide whatever you are willing to keep SoapBlox--and a large chunk of the progressive blogosphere--safe, secure and constantly improving.  

Please monitor SoapBlox.net for future announcements, and feel free to contact us at soapblox at gmail with any ideas or suggestions you might have.  Everything is on the table.

I apologize with all of my heart for the events of the past two days--from the lack of proper communication, to not seeking help that so many of you are willing to give earlier.  

We've all invested so much time and effort in the software and communities, and I am nothing but humbled by the outpouring of support being given.  It shows the true strength of the progressive blogosphere, and these events will lead to a stronger, better SoapBlox platform for all.

Paul Preston
President,
SoapBlox Network, Inc.

The outage was picked up by politico, raw story, and a few other sites.  Chris Bowers will have the formal fundraising pledge up tomorrow that I will cross-post, so please ignore the link I put up yesterday.  

While crashes and being hacked is teh suck, we can rebuilt it, we have the technology.