DNS Attack Cripples Google?
Updated: Please read the addendum below, before adding your own comments.

It's certainly enough to make you think twice before handing over sensitive information to Google. For about 15 minutes on Saturday, Google suffered what looks like a DNS attack, according to vnunet.

Services were suspended between 11.45pm and midnight. Some users trying to access the page were redirected to a search engine called SoGoSearch, suggesting that the problem may have been at the Domain Name System (DNS) server level.

Just about every Google service was shut down, although this was not a case of hacking and there was no breach of security.

"It was not a hacking or a security issue," Google spokesman David Krane told Associated Press.

"Google's global properties were unavailable for a short period of time. We have remedied the problem and access to Google has been restored worldwide."

So, it was DNS a attack and not a security breach. That being said, as Google becomes more dominant, it will likely gain the attention of more and more hackers. How long before they figure out how to get access to your Gmail, your Accelerator cache and the files on your Google desktop search?

This DNS attack serves as a reminder that Google is subject to the same attacks, that other companies face. If they can be hit by a DNS attack, they could also have their security breached. Something to consider, the next time you offer your personal information. ;-)

UPDATE: It appears we have a lot of people wanting to share their love of Google. Read thru some of the comments on this post and you'll see that I'm accused of being everything from a Microsoft employee to a seventh-grader (not sure which is worse). I'm not sure that all of the commenters are reading the entire post above.

My point is that this alleged DNS attack serves as a reminder that as Google becomes more like Microsoft in its pervasiveness, more hackers will attempt to compromise it in some way. This alleged DNS attack (which I know is not a security breach) is a reminder that Google is just as vunerable as other sites. All of the commenters may be seasoned web users, but others may not understand that Google is not invincible.

Let's see how many comments will be added before the day is out. ;-)

UPDATE 2: We're going to put this one to bed now. I emailed David Krane of Google, the following question:

"I've been looking for clarification that the DNS issue over the weekend was not caused by an outside source. I couldn't find anything concrete.

Would you mind dropping me a brief quote confirming that this was not caused by anything malicious or external and was indeed an internal error?"

David replied:

Happy to confirm this, Andy...you're exactly right, and thanks for doing your part to help clear up any lingering confusion.

Best,

David

So we have confirmation that this WAS NOT a DNS attack, but an internal DNS issue. That should please half the commenters below. That being said, I still stand by my original thought that this demonstrates that Google is not invincible and that you should be aware of the risks associated with providing them all of your personal info.

Maybe I should get a DNA test to see if I am in anyway related to Bill O'Reilly. He'd be proud of the ruckus this post caused. ;-)
Andy Beal | permalink | +marktd |