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.

 

[tonyk2000]

The practical difference is that researchers and journalists looking through this dump won't see his name popping up dozens of times when they search for keywords like "nazi".

Post factum - yes, indeed. However, on and before March 2021 the things were set this way (internal records actually, as public records were "privacy" by default).

 

[.X.]

I believe it's been well established that Rob's ownership of the nazi domains was primarily due to Epik's stupid expiration system that involves the domain being placed into Epik's account so they can sell it for a profit after it expires. I agree that this makes Rob's ownership of those domains less bad, but it does not absolve him of all responsibility. For starters, putting his name as the registrant on every domain that expired at Epik was an incredibly stupid decision on his part. Moreover, the reason he got those domains is because Epik is a fan favourite of nazis and all kinds of other unsavory people that Epik was clearly going out of their way to market to. Epik even gave Parler technical advice after they got yanked from AWS.

For what it's worth, Rob Monster also had his name on the registrant contact for hitlerdidnothingwrong dot com for a while. It's not a good look, even if it wasn't really his domain. He needs to seriously reconsider his commitment to putting his name on everything like a wannabe Donald Trump because it's making him look like an asshat right now.

Yep .. after all the fuss .. it turns out the Nazi names aren’t Robs .. but only after a large character attack …

 

[FernandoBMS]

Got it. The only reason I offered is because it's not an Earth-shattering revelation.

This odd curious fact is verifiable and probably (and hopefully) will be addressed by Epik updates here or elsewhere but will certainly be mentioned in articles from independent researchers and journalists as it's a verifiable fact so you can check yourself in the data.

 

[Beezy]

So when we're talking about Russian code from 2011, the author of this code continued to work for the company since?

 

[tonyk2000]

So when we're talking about Russian code from 2011, the author of this code continued to work for the company since?

If it the same person, mentioned by @FernandoBMS -

Vitaliy Opryshko is (was?) Head Of Software Development for the last decade according to his linkedin.

then we may ask him directly: @vitigo is a member here and listed in "Epik Staff"

 

[Truespin Domains]

It's just bonkers how many security issues there were. I run a small SaaS with a small user base and comparatively little sensitive data, and I'm lightyears ahead of this crap. If I was Rob I don't think I'd have ever slept knowing what an insecure ship I was piloting.

 

[Lox]

Let me repeat for the 3rd time ...

If PWNED: Domain investors should change the email address - everywhere, every registrar. Create a new email address & start. Don't use your pwned email address for whois.

Regards

 

[Shackleton]

Anyone who ever used Epik's Anonymize service to hide dodgy activities has to be experiencing a sense of dread right now.

 

[finitecrystal]

It's just bonkers how many security issues there were. I run a small SaaS with a small user base and comparatively little sensitive data, and I'm lightyears ahead of this crap. If I was Rob I don't think I'd have ever slept knowing what an insecure ship I was piloting.

[the following is 100% FiniteCrystal speculation]
I don't think Monster knew how bad things really were, in my opinion him being the acting CTO is a major problem for Epik because it seems like he simply doesn't know his way around a computer well enough to play that role. What really baffles me is the cocky arrogance he seemed to have about how great Epik's security was. It's a little ridiculous to call yourself "The Swiss Bank of Domains" if your system is full of "shitty Russian code", and even more so if you don't know how shitty the code is.

 

[.X.]

So when we're talking about Russian code from 2011, the author of this code continued to work for the company since?

Yep .. just like you said … it’s all in the data … are you still sticking with that Rob owns the Nazi domains ..or ???

 

[bmugford]

Yep .. after all the fuss .. it turns out the Nazi names aren’t Robs .. but only after a large character attack …

Well, the WHOIS was in his name...so yeah, it is a reasonable misunderstanding.

This is really just a red herring from the core underlying issue, which is the massive data breach due to poor security by Epik.

Brad

 

[.X.]

Well, the WHOIS was in his name...so yeah, it is a reasonable misunderstanding.

This is really just a red herring from the core underlying issue, which is the massive breach due to poor security by Epik.

Brad

but it is probably better to have ALL the facts before throwing down Character Assassination and Assassination on a company ..

 

[bmugford]

but it is probably better to have ALL the facts before throwing down Character Assassination and Assassination on a company ..

Yeah, I have no problem with that. But you know if a bunch of nazi domains are in your WHOIS information, you have to see where the misunderstanding came from right?

It is not like it was made up out of thin air.

The point is that this is a minor tangential issue to the core debate regarding the massive data breach due to poor security measures.

Brad

 

[.X.]

Yeah, I have no problem with that. But you know if a bunch of nazi domains are in your WHOIS information, you have to see where the misunderstanding came from right?

It is not like it was made up out of thin air.

Brad

I understand that part .. but knowing Rob owns a domain register is much different than if the Whois information were in my name .. Rob is going to have domains in his name that he didn’t register himself or actually own … things are not always what they appear to be as now proven … the problem ? IMO … all of that was spread on Twitter .. I see that as a big problem .. maybe i am wrong though ..

 

[bmugford]

I understand that part .. but knowing Rob owns a domain register is much different if the Whois information were in my name .. Rob is going to have domains in his name that he didn’t register himself or actually own … things are not always what they appear to be as now proven … the problem ? IMO … all that was spread on Twitter .. I see that as a big problem .. maybe i am wrong though ..

This didn't come from nowhere.

Rob has aligned himself and Epik with some extreme actors over the years. He and others with Epik have been involved in spreading conspiracy theories, from shootings being a hoax to whatever else.

With that said, I think with almost any player this story would have been reported the same way.

They probably should have reached out for comment first, but I know Rob and crew have had a real adversarial relationship with many of these websites and news outlets.

Either way, back to the core point. The actual data breach.

Brad

 

[finitecrystal]

I understand that part .. but knowing Rob owns a domain register is much different if the Whois information were in my name .. Rob is going to have domains in his name that he didn’t register himself or actually own … things are not always what they appear to be as now proven … the problem ? IMO … all of that was spread on Twitter .. I see that as a big problem .. maybe i am wrong though ..

You must not spend much time on Twitter, because you're taking it entirely too seriously. Due to the limitations and design of the platform, crap like this happens all the time, it's just a fact of life now. I already explained why I think Monster does deserve at least some ridicule for this and your unwillingness to just let it go is getting very annoying to the people here trying to discuss the topic of the thread.

 

[Beezy]

The first few times I saw tweets about the research from this, I copy/pasted them directly into the interface here, not sure how to proceed.

Then I saw others actually embedding the tweets, so i figured this was the best path at the moment.

Embedding...

1. Reduced liability for the site. You can go to twitter.com and remove it and embed goes poof.
2. Kept us up to date with WHAT was being researched and shared and by whom.
3. Let others go and correct the sources, add, context, etc.

Context was added all over this thread and on twitter.

I don't get why there is another page about an event from like days ago, as this whole thing seems to have progressed much further.

Let's keep it on the rails.

.X., I get what you're saying but like I said, the conclusion was in the data.

 

[.X.]

You must not spend much time on Twitter, because you're taking it entirely too seriously. Due to the limitations and design of the platform, crap like this happens all the time, it's just a fact of life now. I already explained why I think Monster does deserve at least some ridicule for this and your unwillingness to just let it go is getting very annoying to the people here trying to discuss the topic of the thread.

I don’t use social media at all .. I just read the Tweets that people have posted .. I am discussing the thread .. the thread has as much to do with character Assassination as it does the hack itself … read through it.

 

[finitecrystal]

I don’t use social media at all .. I just read the Tweets that people have posted .. I am discussing the thread .. the thread has as much to do with character Assassination as it does the hack itself … read through it.

The only reason the thread has anything to do with character assassination is because the conspiratorial Epik Defense Force keeps making it about that. It really feels like a lot of people in this thread are trying to deflect from the severity of the hack by accusing everyone saying anything that isn't 100% glowing praise about Epik of character assassination or whatever.

 

[bmugford]

The only reason the thread has anything to do with character assassination is because the conspiratorial Epik Defense Force keeps making it about that. It really feels like a lot of people in this thread are trying to deflect from the severity of the hack by accusing everyone saying anything that isn't 100% glowing praise about Epik of character assassination or whatever.

This has kind of been the MO of some here in the past when it came to other controversies.

This is far too large and mainstream for deflect, and blame others to work.

Brad