# Is Amazon.com the target of a hacker attack? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2000, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221 "2000-02-09T02:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_J_Cunningham_1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/1 "2000-02-09T02:51:00Z")
I haven’t been able to get onto [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) in the last hour. Is this another hacker attack along the lines of what happened to Yahoo! and [buy.com](http://buy.com)? What happens in an attack like this, and what can be done to prevent it. I **really** hope somebody catches these assholes soon… ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/2 "2000-02-09T03:07:00Z")
I heard on CNN that those hackers got to eBay today. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got to [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) right about now. * * * …and remember, duct tape fixes _all_ your problems, big and small. [Fun with HTML (tutoral) : The True Sequal](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/19991103-2-000302.html) ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/3 "2000-02-09T03:13:00Z")
Well, I checked the site, Edward J Cunningham, and [http://www.amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com) works… …for now ☹ * * * …and remember, duct tape fixes _all_ your problems, big and small. [Fun with HTML (tutoral) : The True Sequal](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/19991103-2-000302.html) ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/4 "2000-02-09T03:21:00Z")
You’re right. They seem to be down. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/5 "2000-02-09T05:09:00Z")
It’s been confirmed. Looks like so far, the same group has hit Yahoo, eBay, [Buy.com](http://Buy.com), CNN and Amazon. Here’s a story: [http://cnnfn.com/2000/02/08/technology/yahoo/](http://cnnfn.com/2000/02/08/technology/yahoo/) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/6 "2000-02-09T05:13:00Z")
Amazon seems to be back up now; I was there a few minutes ago. But eBay is still down. I tried to check on an auction and can’t get in. I checked CNN (remembering Yahoo yesterday) and they are confirming the attack. * * * “Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.” [dennis@mountaindiver.com](mailto:dennis@mountaindiver.com) [www.mountaindiver.com](http://www.mountaindiver.com) ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/7 "2000-02-09T08:19:00Z")
Speaking of such things, is anyone else having a problem getting through to hotmail? * * * The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they’re going to be when you kill them. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/8 "2000-02-09T14:02:00Z")
As of about 8:20 EST, I got into my Hotmail account without a hitch. However, that’s often more rare than not. Maybe the hackers got in and actually made it work for once! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/9 "2000-02-09T15:48:00Z")
Its not really a hacker type of thing. They are just requesting information at some alarming rate. They probably open like 100 accesses per second or something & that slows things. Did it at Yahoo this week too. I have a message board. Sometimes people run something like that on it. They run a program that tries to ‘writes’ dozens of times all at once. Causes the board to blow. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/10 "2000-02-09T17:04:00Z")
From CNN, this is what is going on… > [@](#): > > A denial of service attack is a merciless stream of information sent to a target with the intention of flooding it until it crashes or can no longer take legitimate traffic. Unlike most other “hacks,” it does not involve the attacker gaining access or entry into the targeted server. The information frequently is sent in the form of “pings” – small packets of data used as a signal between computers. If the pinger lies about its real address, the target computer can’t return the ping to make the connection. In that case, the target waits and finally gives up. In great amounts, this can overwhelm a server. ## ZDNet and E\*Trade were attacked this morning. Anyone want to speculate on 1) what these people want or 2) who they are going to hit next? “Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.” [dennis@mountaindiver.com](mailto:dennis@mountaindiver.com) [www.mountaindiver.com](http://www.mountaindiver.com) ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2000, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/11 "2000-02-09T17:14:00Z")
1. Attention 2. If only they would hit DoubleClick!! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/12 "2000-02-10T02:22:00Z")
Probably just some high schoolers at it again. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/13 "2000-02-10T02:59:00Z")
Maybe it was **gl0worm** … * * * \>\< DARWIN \> \_\_ **L\_\_\_L** ---
**Author:** ![HeadlessCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@HeadlessCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadlessCow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2000, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/14 "2000-02-10T03:11:00Z")
Check this article on ZDNet for more info on the attacks. [http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story\_4444.html](http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4444.html) ---
**Author:** ![katana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/db5fbb/32.png) [@katana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katana)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2000, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/15 "2000-02-14T22:48:00Z")
yeah, it is a denial of service attack, about 3-6 people did it. They hacked computers such in high bandwith computers like in an university and installed programs that sent many requests to those sites causing them to slow down or overflow. Check [http://www.antionline.com](http://www.antionline.com) for a more in depth. ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2000, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-com-the-target-of-a-hacker-attack/7221/16 "2000-02-15T01:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > ZDNet and E\*Trade were attacked this morning. Anyone want to speculate on 1) what these people want or 2) who they are going to hit next? The (2/21) issue of Newsweek which just arrived at my house today has a great cartoon on page 17. Alan Greenspan is typing on a PC, surrounded by packages of Ding-Dongs ahd ho-Hos and a newspaper headlined “Hacker Slows Trading on Wall Street”, thinking “they’ll never suspect a thing…”.