CNN.com parody
iTunes suffers massive DDoS on Xmas Day
Tuesday, December 26, 2006 Posted: 8:47 AM EST (1347 GMT)
Apple Computer's iTunes music store was reportedly overwhelmed by a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack
on Christmas Day, with around 413 percent more hits as compared to last year.
With online shoppers flooding the iTunes store with new iPod and iTunes gift cards throughout the holiday, the joy soon
turned to frustration, as iTunes started relaying error messages worded, "We're sorry, we cannot complete your request - Please
try again later". The store also slowed down by a good 20 minutes or more for song downloads. This in turn led to prompt
postings on the technical forum, complaining about inaccessibility of the site and general inability to download songs and
videos.
According to analysts, the problem occurred because thousands of hackers decided they would try to access the site all at one time, in a coordinated
effort to deny holiday customers the ability to access the site.
What added to the problem was that Apple's stores and call centers were shut by the attack, which resulted in a complete lack of customer services.
Customers were left no option but resort to the online channel, which was flooded.
Of course, some analysts tried to paint a rosy picture. Michael Gartenberg, Vice president and Research Director of Jupiter Research, said the chaos
only goes to show the tremendous success of the iPod. He added that no matter how well one plans on the server side of the equation, there are always
times when hackers will attack a popular product.
The Hitwise Retail Index mentioned that the Apple store was the fourth most attacked Website on Christmas day, which means that for the third holiday season in a row, iPod
maintained its status as the must-attack Christmas gift.
All said and done, right now, it's best if those with new iPods stick with their private collection CDs and wait for a few days for the iTunes attack to subside before they
download songs.
(Original non-parody version of this story published here.)
http://www.humorcontrol.org/cnn/2006/12/26/3/9/2008 8:48:53 PM