theregoesdave

Yesterday I looked at the press release about the Comcast.net defacement hack that happened and speculated that it might have had something to do with the actual root domain servers based on the mention of Network Solutions in the email. Shashi Bellamkoda works for Network Solutions and writes the Solutions Are Power blog to help small businesses learn about starting up in the online space. Luckily, we both happened to be flying back to DC from Chicago and he dispelled my assumption and let me know as much as I could ever expect to know about a security breach at any internet firm.

That’s right, ladies and gentleman, I’m issuing a retraction. Not just any retraction, my first *ever* retraction since I started blogging over a year ago. And I’m happy to do so. When a company is so responsive and transparent as to follow up with me personally to clarify the details of an event like this is a shining example of openness and interacting with their user community. For them to be proactive and transparent in the midst of a security breach is really amazing.

Oh, so what happened? To say that Comcast.net’s account with Network Solutions was hacked is somewhat of a fuzzy distinction. Network Solution’s domain servers definitely weren’t compromised as someone logged into their domain control account with NetSol and changed the settings. To me, the most accurate way to put it is that Comcast.net’s login credentials were compromised. No word on hoe the hackers got their hands on the credentials, but you can be sure they’re reviewing their operational security this morning. Network Solutions resolved the issue in less than 2 hours in the root servers, though some ISP’s with longer TTL (DNS update) cycles didn’t get the corrected settings for a bit longer.

I also want to thank Shashi for being so responsive and demonstrating that even mega-corporations like Network Solutions can provide personal responsiveness and open lines of communication. If only my (much smaller) hosting company could be so responsive.

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