tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post4912452327046513448..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: Ancestry.com HackedJames Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-36357830906854353282014-06-19T08:27:12.572-07:002014-06-19T08:27:12.572-07:00I certainly agree and I fully understand the diffe...I certainly agree and I fully understand the difference. Unfortunately the words used by the popular media are not term of art. The word "hacked" and all the derived terms have go through a 180 degree redefinition since they were originally coined. However, for the user, even if the data is somehow unaffected, access may be limited. As of the date of this reply, Ancestry.com is still not fully functional. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-80435589440357243362014-06-19T08:05:45.215-07:002014-06-19T08:05:45.215-07:00I'm not keen on the use of the word "hack...I'm not keen on the use of the word "hacked". Wikipedia uses "hacked" in the context of IT to mean breaking into a system. If the system was hacked in that sense, then your data is at risk. (Not necessarily compromised, just at some risk of being compromised). <br /><br />However, the official announcement from Ancestry (when I last saw it) described it as a Distributed Denial of Service attack - which is quite different as it involves thousands (more?) of attackers trying to connect to the web-site in a perfectly "normal" manner but in such volumes as to swamp the target. <br /><br />Hacking is like one person breaking and entering into your house while you're out. DDoS is like you coming home and finding you can't reach your own front door because the population of New York is between your and the door - each person is just politely coming up to the door, ringing the bell and walking away. OK - let's not push that analogy too far, but ....<br /><br />The need to differentiate comes from reassuring people whether their data was at risk or not. Interestingly, commercial companies are now being held to ransom - pay us or we'll launch a DDoS. And the attackers are often "botnets" - ordinary PCs that have been infected with malware and are sending the messages on command of a remote server with their users oblivious to what's going on. Adrian Brucenoreply@blogger.com