Twitter Attack Was Another Political DDoS

pcworld.com ^ | Aug 7, 2009 | Erik Larkin

[Berlin_Freeper]

The distributed denial-of-service attack that hampered access to social networking and blogging sites all went after one pro-Georgia blogger, according to security company reports.

According to a post from F-Secure's Mikko Hypponen, the attacks focused on Cyxymu's accounts at Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and Livejournal, and also included a "Joe Job" spam campaign that was designed to look as if the unwanted messages had been sent by Cyxymu. McAfee offers a similar analysis with a post that ties the spam campaign to the same botnet that launched the DDoS attack, and says that a cyxymu account at Fotki.com was also targeted.

Cyxymu's Facebook page (currently up) at http://facebook.com/cyxymu contains comments and links to Eastern European events and politics. The most recent comments link to news stories on the attacks and claim that Russian media has been silent on the topic.

So the answer to the question, "Why Attack Twitter?" appears to be politics. The explanation makes sense given previous politically motivated DDoS attacks against Estonian Web sites in 2007 that were later tied to Russian hackers, and more recent attacks against Georgian sites in 2008 during Georgia's conflict with Russia over South Ossetia.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Putin has misread his Georgian lesson
Published: August 7 2009 19:00 | Last updated: August 7 2009 19:00

There is a dreadful sense of déjà vu to the sight of Vladimir Putin parading bare-chested for photographers while on holiday in Siberia. The Russian prime minister’s annual picture shoot suggests an inordinate pride in his pectorals and his athletic image.

It is scarcely coincidental that the pictures were published just before Saturday’s first anniversary of Russia’s nasty little war with neighbouring Georgia. That conflict against a tiresome former Soviet republic is seen in Moscow as a triumph for Russian hard power, and Mr Putin as the strong man who inspired it.

[AnAmericanMother]

Only consolation here:

1. He has no idea how to sit a horse.

2. The horse is completely ignoring him. If you ride, it's very funny - the horse's expression says it all. "Yah, you idiot, blah blah blah. Now get off my kidneys and off my mouth!"

[Red Boots]

The Russian prime minister’s annual picture shoot suggests an inordinate pride in his pectorals and his athletic image.

I don't know why. They sag.

[Billthedrill]

LOL! That is exactly what's going through that horse's mind. Somebody needs to tell Pootie that those aren't bus straps he has in his hands. Maybe he'd be more comfortable side-saddle.

[PJ-Comix]

Twitter is STILL having problems. I tried to make two posts to Twitter. One this morning and one just now. No can do.

[AnAmericanMother]

He's got hands like a blacksmith. That poor horse.

Horse out of frame:

Horse in frame (well, almost - she's a little overbent, her forehead should be at right angles to the ground):

Riding sidesaddle isn't easy, by the way. I've taken some lessons, enough to convince me that it isn't worth the trouble.

[Billthedrill]

The resolution on that pic isn’t great but...that’s a hackamore, isn’t it? Didn’t they trust Pootie with a bit? Maybe that’s a good thing.

[AnAmericanMother]

Actually, that's a French snaffle with a German martingale attached (surprising we didn't have a war up front).

The French snaffle has a short double-jointed bar in the middle. It encourages the horse to play with the bit and roll it on her tongue, so that her jaw stays supple and relaxed.

The German martingale is like a running martingale, but instead of acting by pulling downward on the length of the reins, it is run through the ring of the bit on each side and attached to the reins. This stops the horse from throwing her head up in response to the action of the martingale. Also, unlike a running martingale, if you're in the hunting field and your horse needs her head for a big fence or a stumble, you can 'throw it away' simply by slipping your reins. You can't use it in the show ring (except for Handy Hunter classes) but it's a wonderful tool for the hunting field or three-day eventing.

[AnAmericanMother]

I forgot to add, you can’t really use a hackamore for dressage or any kind of precision work. Usually riding English we only see it on horses with severe mouth problems (in which case they’re not going to be doing precision work) or on open jumpers (who are complete maniacs).

[Billthedrill]

Hmm...used to ride English myself (hunt saddle on a Tennessee Walker but it's what I could afford). Split snaffle most of the time but that was because the horse knew his business and I couldn't screw him up too badly that way. Graduated to a double when they figured they could trust me but I never used it on that particular horse. At no point in my career did I ever know more about riding than that horse did.

Nothing wrong with a hackamore if you're neck-reining. Plow reining, now, which is what Pootie appears to be doing, is a little less...ah, "precise," as you tactfully state. Or you give it to a rider who you expect to lead around a lot. ;-)

[AnAmericanMother]

Actually, I thought you were talking about my rig.

But taking a closer look at the pic, I think that little Mongolian horse is in a hackamore, or just a halter with reins since I don't see any action on the nasal bone (the noseband is way too high up for that). And the way Pootie is hauling on him, if he had any sort of bit in his mouth his mouth would be gaped open.

Sorry for assuming you rode Western - most guys do, if they don't play polo or hunt! I could see riding a TWalker in a hunt saddle, I'll ride anything in a hunt saddle, even a polo pony. (When I was helping a neighbor ride in a batch of polo ponies, I brought my big old Courbette hunting saddle down and it did look silly - but I was very secure and comfortable on some pretty wooly beasts!)