Notes

Tech Tent: Minecraft and A Botnet Battle

Tech Tent: Minecraft and a botnet war Rory C.Jones Technology correspondent @BBCRoryCJon on Twitter



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The most talked about story on my podcast this week is about cyberwarfare raging beneath the surface of a game, whose main gamers are children.



We also look at Europe's fight against fake news and learn about how South Korean electronics giant Samsung was tainted in a corruption scandal.



A botnet battle and Minecraft



The Mirai botnet seized control of thousands of connected devices to launch massive denial of service (DDoS), attacks against major websites last year. This led to panic over the security of Internet of Things.



Brian Krebs, a security researcher was one of the victims. He has published an extensive investigation into the origins of Mirai and the people behind it. It took him several months and is an outstanding piece of investigative journalism.



The most remarkable aspect of his story is that it was a battle over the game of education that is so popular Minecraft that led to the hugely disruptive DDoS attacks.



It turns out that these attacks are targeted at lucrative Minecraft servers and the companies that offer them security protection. Robert Coelho, whose ProxyPipe assists clients in dealing with DDoS attacks, was among the victims.



He tells us: "We can't have servers down for more than 10 seconds at a time." When that happens, players leave and server firms look for other security companies.



"There's many bad players in Minecraft," Coelho explains, "because a lot of servers are operated by underage users and there's a lot of money involved, so attacks are frequent."



Brian Krebs' article also emphasizes the youth of many people involved in these online battles.



It appears that some of the most destructive and devastating attacks that have been witnessed around the globe were launched by people who are still in their teens. I'm assuming that they see this all as just a game - but with the FBI on the case , they may find there are serious consequences.



Europe is smacking back at fake news



We've previously discussed the issue of fake news on social media, particularly as it was related to US elections, but with Germany and France having voted this year, the issue has become a topic of discussion in Europe.



This week Facebook unveiled plans to help battle fake stories in Germany. Correctiv, a small independent journalistic and fact-checking organisation, will examine any articles flagged as questionable by readers.



"We observe that populists all over Germany are using fake news to change the mood of the populace," David Schraven from Correctiv informs me. He admits that his company faces a huge task but says it's vital for democracy: "It's very important to make the right decision in an election, and to know the most accurate information about the truth in the society."



The vice president of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip who is responsible for the Digital Single Market, admits there's a problem. He said it's up to social media platforms to address the issue, not the government. He also said that fake news is bad however the Ministry of Truth is worse. This was his message to Joe Miller at the World Economic Forum in Davos.



He believes that if people don't trust what they see on platforms like Facebook or Twitter, they will move to other platforms. The problem will then be self-correcting. TOP MINECRAFT SERVERS This could be a positive view of the importance that social media users place upon accurate information.



Samsung's troubles



Samsung, the mobile phone company, has had a rough few months. First it had to withdraw its Galaxy Note 7 phone after some of them caught on fire. (We'll learn more about this Monday when it announces the results of its investigation into the issue.



It is now involved in the corruption scandal that involved South Korean President Park Geun Hye.



JY Lee, the Samsung boss, was investigated by investigators regarding allegations of bribery to get support for an acquisition.



Despite these issues, Samsung appears to be capable of operating as usual, with Korean public not too concerned about the company's conduct. Steve Evans, our man in Seoul, is on the show to explain how important Samsung is to the South Korean economy. The company's revenues make up 17 percent of the country's GDP, and in addition to mobile phones this vast industrial conglomerate is involved in everything from funerals to hospitals. Koreans have become familiar with Samsung from the time of its birth until the grave.


My Website: https://top-minecraft-servers.info/