StratFor defies Xmas hackers, goes back online

Almost a month after hackers broke into its site and leaked its data, think tank Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor) went back online early morning Thursday (Manila time).

 

But visitors to Stratfor's website as of 4 a.m. on Thursday were still greeted with an error message that Stratfor claimed was a "service interruption" due to "increased traffic."

 

"Due to the high volume of interest in our new website, we are currently encountering a service interruption. We are working with outside experts to increase our capacity to handle the increased traffic to the new website," it said as of 4 a.m.

 

Stratfor chief executive George Friedman, in a YouTube video lasting more than five  minutes, admitted the hack was "our failure."

 

"This was a failure on our part. As the CEO of Stratfor, I take responsibility for this failure. This failure created hardship for customers and friends, and I deeply regret that it took place. The failure originated in the rapid growth of the company. As it grew, the managing team and administrative processes ... there was a failure of oversight. (I) assure everyone that Stratfor is taking aggressive steps to deal with the problem and ensure that it doesn’t happen again," The Hacker News quoted Friedman as saying.

 

Last Christmas Day, hackers staged a cyber-attack on Stratfor, claiming to use the stolen data to make $500,000 in charitable donations to The American Red Cross and Save the Children, and other charities.

 

The leaked data was also posted online.

 

Friedman said he was first alerted to the website hack in early December, weeks before the hacktivist group Anonymous took to Twitter to boast of hacking the site.

 

He maintained those whose data was leaked were subscribers and not clients.

 

Friedman also took a dig at Anonymous for the attack.

 

"The Internet has become indispensable, but it also enables anonymity and undermines accountability. The technology empowers people whose identities we don’t know, whose motives we don’t understand, and its ability to cause harm substantially. This is a new censorship that doesn't come openly from governments but from people hiding behind masks," he said.

 

But he said the attempt to silence them had failed, adding the site is back, its email is working, and it is restoring its archives.

 

He also said they are rebuilding a secure system, and having a third party handle credit cards as well as providing identity theft protection to its clients.

 

Friedman said they also expect to be attacked again but said they will continue to publish their analyses.

 

“To all I dedicate myself to denying our attackers the prize they want. We are returning to the work we love, dedicated to correct our mistakes, and becoming better than ever at analyzing and forecasting,” he said. — TJD, GMA News