Notes

Tech Tent: Minecraft and A Botnet Battle

Tech Tent: Minecraft and a botnet battle Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent @BBCRoryCJon on Twitter



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The most talked about story on my podcast this week is about cyberwarfare that is raging beneath the surface of a game, whose primary target audience is children.



We also discuss Europe's fight against fake news, and learn the story of how South Korean electronics giant Samsung has been affected by a government corruption scandal.



A botnet battle and Minecraft



The Mirai botnet took over thousands of connected devices to launch massive DDoS attacks (DDoS) against major websites last year - and caused an alarming concern about the security of the Internet of Things.



Brian Krebs, a security researcher, was one of the victims. He has published a thorough investigation into the history of Mirai as well as the people behind it. This is an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism and took him many months to complete.



His story is unique because it was a fight for Minecraft an educational game, that resulted in the massively disruptive DDoS attacks.



It turns out that such attacks are being used against lucrative Minecraft servers and those who provide security protection. Robert Coelho, whose ProxyPipe helps clients to deal with DDoS attacks, was one of the victims.
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He said, "We can't have servers down for more than 10 minutes at a time." If this happens, users will leave the site, and servers firms will look for other security providers.



Coelho says that there are many bad actors in Minecraft. "Because many servers are run underage and there is a lot of money involved, attacks are frequent."



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



People in their teens seem to have carried out some of the most destructive and damaging attacks that the world has ever witnessed. I'm sure they think that this is just playing games, but with the FBI investigating the matter, they may face serious consequences.



Europe takes a swipe at fake news



We've previously discussed fake information on social media with regards to the US election. However, with France and Germany having voted this year it has pushed into the forefront of European politics.



Facebook announced plans to combat fake news in Germany this week. Articles that are flagged by readers as suspect will be scrutinized by a small independent investigative journalism and fact-checking organization called Correctiv.



Correctiv's David Schraven tells me that "we are aware that populists across Germany are using fake news in order to alter the mood" He acknowledges that the organization faces a daunting task, but he believes it is essential for the democratic process: "It's very important to make a sound decision during an election, to be aware as much as possible about the truth in the society."



Andrus Ansip (Vice President of the European Commission), is in charge for the Digital Single Market. He acknowledges that there is an issue. He said it's up to social media platforms to deal with the problem, not governments. He also said that fake news is harmful 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 users no longer believe what they read on platforms like Facebook or Twitter they will migrate elsewhere, so the problem will self-correct. This could be a positive perspective of the importance social media users put on accurate news.



Samsung's woes



The giant of mobile phones Samsung has had a turbulent time over the last few months. It first had to pull its Galaxy Note 7 phone after some of them caught on fire. (We will know more about that when it releases the findings of its investigation into the issue on Monday).



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



JY Lee JY Lee, the Samsung boss, was investigated by investigators regarding allegations of bribery in order to gain support for the merger.



Despite these issues, Samsung appears to be capable of operating as usual, with Korean public not too concerned about its conduct. Steve Evans, our man in Seoul, is on the show to discuss how crucial Samsung is to the South Korean economy. Its revenues amount to 17% of the country's GDP and as well as mobile phones this vast industrial company is involved in everything from hospitals to funerals. Koreans have come to know Samsung from the beginning to the end of time.


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