alert Epik Had A Major Breach

[DaveX]

Just read this. Looks like Epik may have been hacked and sensitive data compromised...

Read here:
https://domainnamewire.com/2021/09/14/hackers-claim-significant-epik-breach/

Thought I would share this.

 

[jmcc]

So you mean that people need to find Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies that are aligned with their own ideology.

It is a free market. People can make their own choices. Most people, or their web developers, decide where to host and they do so generally based on the best price or most features. The high minded approach based on ideology doesn't really come into things. Even with Epik, most of those using it as a registrar were doing so on pricing and service.

But that causes more divisions and takes us away from having a fair and uniform system.

No. The "fair and uniform system" is just another way of presenting a highly controlled and restrictive system as being user friendly.

Regards...jmcc

 

[carob]

With registries, it would have to be a major problem for a registry to suspend a domain name.

Yes, the .me registry shut down incels.me:

https://mashable.com/article/incels-me-domain-suspended-by-registry

 

[bmugford]

But that causes more divisions and takes us away from having a fair and uniform system.

I don't know, you could argue that providing platforms for hate speech is far more divisive.

Regardless, there is just no world where a web host is going to be required to host content they don't want to host. The are too many moral, practical, and legal issues with that.

Brad

 

[carob]

So you mean that people need to find Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies that are aligned with their own ideology.

They need to find ones whose ToS they can comply with.

 

[jmcc]

Yes, the .me registry shut down incels.me:

https://mashable.com/article/incels-me-domain-suspended-by-registry

Yep. Some of the registries have also suspended Covid related domain names.

Regards...jmcc

 

[oldtimer]

Added to my last post:

Keep in mind that we are not talking about clear cut cases that are in violation of the law, here I am concerned more about the way that the TOS for Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies are going to be abused to affect people's freedom of speech based on differences in ideologies.

 

[bmugford]

Added to my last post:

Keep in mind that we are not talking about clear cut cases that are in violation of the law, here I am concerned more about the way that the TOS for Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies are going to be abused to affect people's freedom of speech based on differences in ideologies.

Should a US based web host be forced to host a white supremacy website or Holocaust denial website?

Both might technically be legal, but the vast majority of people are going to find them disgusting and unacceptable.

Freedom of speech only relates to the government itself, not private groups, organizations, or businesses.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I am going to use the BBQ example again. If I have a BBQ on my property and invite you, I set the terms. Your freedom of speech does not exist on my private property. I can ask you to leave at my whim, for any reason. It is no different when it comes to most businesses.

Brad

 

[jmcc]

Added to my last post:

Keep in mind that we are not talking about clear cut cases that are in violation of the law, here I am concerned more about the way that the TOS for Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies are going to be abused to affect people's freedom of speech based on differences in ideologies.

The Gab/Parler situations showed how that is not such a serious issue at a registrar/hosting level because it was possible to move the domain name and hosting elsewhere.

Regards...jmcc

 

[carob]

Added to my last post:

Keep in mind that we are not talking about clear cut cases that are in violation of the law, here I am concerned more about the way that the TOS for Registrars, Registries, and Hosting Companies are going to be abused to affect people's freedom of speech based on differences in ideologies.

It's admirable that you want to find a global solution to the issue of free speech, but the world is a patchwork of different societies with different laws and morals.

The .in registry can cancel any adult domain and pretty much any domain found morally offensive - should people outside India try to determine what that means?


And yes internet freedom is decreasing according to an annual report on the subject: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2021/global-drive-control-big-tech - mostly due to government actors, not private companies:

Key Findings
Global internet freedom declined for the 11th consecutive year. The greatest deteriorations were documented in Myanmar, Belarus, and Uganda, where state forces cracked down amid electoral and constitutional crises. Myanmar’s 14-point score decline is the largest registered since the Freedom on the Net project began.

Governments clashed with technology companies on users’ rights. Authorities in at least 48 countries pursued new rules for tech companies on content, data, and competition over the past year. With a few positive exceptions, the push to regulate the tech industry, which stems in some cases from genuine problems like online harassment and manipulative market practices, is being exploited to subdue free expression and gain greater access to private data.

Free expression online is under unprecedented strain. More governments arrested users for nonviolent political, social, or religious speech than ever before. Officials suspended internet access in at least 20 countries, and 21 states blocked access to social media platforms. Authorities in at least 45 countries are suspected of obtaining sophisticated spyware or data-extraction technology from private vendors.

 

[jmcc]

From what I remember, commercial speech has fewer protections under US law.

Regards...jmcc

 

[oldtimer]

The Gab/Parler situations showed how that is not such a serious issue at a registrar/hosting level because it was possible to move the domain name and hosting elsewhere.

Regards...jmcc

They were arbitrarily kicked out by the Registrar not as a result of a judgment by a Panel of Judges.

IMO

 

[bmugford]

They were arbitrarily kicked out by the Registrar not as a result of a judgment by a Panel of Judges.

IMO

The private company is the judge of who they want to do business with. That is how the free market works.

Brad

 

[NameFu]

Web host Epik was warned of a critical security flaw weeks before it was hacked

https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2021/09/17/epik-website-bug-hacked/amp/

 

[blockhead]

Fellas, maybe going in circles forever would be better in a different thread

I'm sure there are still a lot of people just learning about the Original Topic, and it's already gonna be a nightmare digging through so many pages for relevant info. Most simply won't do it.

I think at a certain point it would be far more useful to have a succinct thread of facts without all the discussion.

Right now people mostly just need pertinent advice about what they need to do to secure their account, what passwords need changed, what financial details may be floating around out there now, etc.

There's already several long threads about the pros/cons/discussion of Epik & R.M.

 

[NameFu]

I wasn't aware of Epik hosting all these disgusting sites. Has Rob Monster ever given a public opinion on why he is OK with hosting this stuff?

I would assume he has the argument of freedom of speech, but you have to draw the line somewhere and I can't help but to wonder how you can go to sleep at night knowing that you are hosting sites for groups that advocate and promote terrorism.

I don't like to judge until I hear a person defend himself...until I hear them speak for them self before I decide what to think about a controversy, but so far all of this comes as an extreme shock! Like WTF!?

 

[bmugford]

I wasn't aware of Epik hosting all these disgusting sites. Has Rob Monster ever given a public opinion on why he is OK with hosting this stuff?

I would assume he has the argument of freedom of speech, but you have to draw the line somewhere and I can't help but to wonder how you can go to sleep at night knowing that you are hosting sites for groups that advocate terrorism.

I don't like to judge until I hear a person defend himself...until I sl hear them speak for the self before I decide what to think about a controversy, but so far all of this comes as an extreme shock! Like WTF!?

They are pretty well known for the extreme content that they allow, and sometimes court.
Wikipedia highlights that fact.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epik_(company)

In fact, that Wikipedia entry lead to a Wiki editor named Molly White being targeted and harassed, bullied, doxxed, and threatened.

More info -

https://www.namepros.com/threads/epik-wikipedia-battle-is-full-on-right-now.1186029/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/please-sign-this-petition-to-help-mr-rob-monster.1186329/

You can read Molly White's response here -
https://blog.mollywhite.net/response-to-the-changeorg-petition-about-me/

Some other threads worth a read -

https://www.namepros.com/threads/whats-going-on-with-epik-and-rob-monster.1128748/
https://www.namepros.com/threads/an-epik-statement-on-racism-and-injustice.1194949/

In those threads you can read Rob Monster's own words and see how you feel.

Brad

 

[oldtimer]

Fellas, maybe going in circles forever would be better in a different thread

My last post on the subject:

I am not saying that certain websites shouldn't be taken down, all I am saying is that if a website is going to be taken down it has to be as a result of a judgment by a panel of judges and not based on the interests, agendas, and Ideologies of the Registrars, Registries, or Hosting Companies.

Their TOS should only be applied to clear cut cases that are in violation of the law, everything else has to be decided by a panel of judges. (end of story)

IMO

 

[Windoms]

I wasn't aware of Epik hosting all these disgusting sites. Has Rob Monster ever given a public opinion on why he is OK with hosting this stuff?

I would assume he has the argument of freedom of speech, but you have to draw the line somewhere and I can't help but to wonder how you can go to sleep at night knowing that you are hosting sites for groups that advocate and promote terrorism.

I don't like to judge until I hear a person defend himself...until I hear them speak for them self before I decide what to think about a controversy, but so far all of this comes as an extreme shock! Like WTF!?

Just look at facts.

A company has been boasting about its security and privacy.
Yet this was hiding under the rug.

On a sidenote, attracting extremists on a single platform while promoting security is the dumbest thing ever because you will inevitably become the target of hackers and governement organizations of all sorts (even foreign China Russia) for the sole reason of hosting such people.

Like hey Im Mr China/Russia I want to contact and fund the owners of everyonewhocoulddestroyamericansociety.com, lets hack epik.
Or a Chinese dissident chooses epik for its Chinese politics forum because it seems like a secure registrar.

Bound to happen, when you label a company as THE place for deviants, extremists, and dissidents.
And now everyone knows about it.

 

[bmugford]

On a sidenote, attracting extremists on a single platform while promoting security is the dumbest thing ever because you will inevitably become the target of hackers and governement organizations of all sorts (even foreign China Russia) for the sole reason of hosting such people.

Like hey Im Mr China/Russia I want to contact and fund the owners of everyonewhocoulddestroyamericansociety.com, lets hack epik.
Or a Chinese dissident chooses epik for its Chinese politics forum because it seems like a secure registrar.

Bound to happen, when you label a company as THE place for deviants, extremists, and dissidents.
And now everyone knows about it.

I am not a conspiracy theorist... but get a bunch of extremists using one company, then one of the most complete data breaches in history happens. Names, addresses, passwords, credit cards, VPN records, and much more.

This a real honeypot for law enforcement.

Brad

 

[NameFu]

This profile already has 11k followers
https://twitter.com/epikfailsnippet?s=20