On the morning of May 9, one of the main strongholds of import substitution – the video hosting Rutube – came under the greatest attack not only in its sixteen-year history, but perhaps in the entire history of the existence of social networks. Russia. For two days the site was “lying” and multiple hackers (including the famous Anonymous group) claimed responsibility for the “hack of the year”. I was told that the platform could not be recovered due to the complete removal of the code, but a few days later Rutube rose from the dead and now continues to work – after defeating over 75% of the bases and infrastructure of the main version and 90% of the backups and database recovery sets. The numbers are impressive, but what do they mean in practice? We understand the causes and consequences of the largest cyberattack in Rutube history with representatives of video hosting (names not disclosed for security and privacy reasons).
According to Rutube official reports, more than 75% of major release databases and infrastructure and more than 90% of backups and database recovery clusters were affected. What does this mean in practice, what threatens future work?
This characterizes a high degree of damage to the infrastructure and means that the platform will face a difficult and long recovery period. It takes a lot of resources to get everything right. That’s why it wasn’t possible to set up video hosting in one day.
Everyone expected Rutube to work in the same mode the next day, but so far we are gradually opening the options, we are not in a hurry to give everything at once.
First, we launch the functionality for users (search, comments, posts), then for bloggers: we are currently working on restoring the blogger’s studio and moderation.
After the attack, there were reports that “the site cannot be recovered due to the complete removal of its code”. Was this really possible?
Everything is possible. No company is immune from hacking or even complete extinction. This is a question of hackers’ level of training, preparation time and cost of operation.
Restoration of the site was on the verge of impossible, but the attack was localized in the first hours.
The attack was serious and aimed at a long-term shortage of resources.
Are there any exact reasons why the service is shutting down? Is there an ongoing investigation that has already been discovered?
There are many options for this type of attack, but the result is always the same – an attempt to detect hidden or other valuable information on devices.
A thorough investigation is underway, it will take time.
The network also wrote that this was a planned and targeted attack. How is it expressed?
This type of attack is a premeditated and costly undertaking. Therefore, the consequences of such events cannot be eliminated within a few hours. Also, Rutube experts found many software “bookmarks” left by the attackers.
What measures have been taken to protect against similar attacks in the future?
While work continues to restore the platform, the incident is being investigated in parallel with the search for the causes of the incident. As soon as we have a complete picture of what is happening, we will take steps to protect against similar and other attacks and strengthen the platform’s cybersecurity system.
Is Rutube now fully restored?
We have restored the platform code and now 99.5% of the video library is available to users alongside live streams of TV channels.
We are primarily working on the functionality required for platform users who go to Rutube to watch videos.
Soon functionality for content writers will work – Rutube Studio and video moderation.
How will the attack affect and already affect the future development of the brand?
The attack on Rutube had great repercussions in Telegram, domestic and foreign media.
Of course, it was not the appearance of hatred and, moreover, unreliable expressions in the field of knowledge. This is common.
I would like to remind you that last autumn Rutube took part in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the fight against counterfeit products. We live in the age of fakes, so we constantly inform users and partners about the situation and report on how the platform is restored on the official Rutube Telegram channel.
However, we have also received a lot of support not only from our colleagues and partners, especially from IT companies who have offered to help us, but also from well-known media and major bloggers who have promised to upload content to the platform. after it has been restored.
Source: People Talk
