[Dredd]

Avsim was hacked on May 12th 2009 in such a way that it would seem unlikely that it will return. Tom Allensworth made this announcement:

Quote

"We regret to inform the flight simulation community that on Tuesday, May 12, AVSIM was hacked and effectively destroyed. The method of the hack makes recovery difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. Both servers, that is the library / email and web site / forum servers were attacked. AVSIM is totally offline at this time and we expect to be so for some time to come. We are not able to predict when we will be back online, if we can come back at all. We will post more news as we are able to in the coming days and weeks...".

I'm sure, like me, we all wish Avsim a speedy recovery as it's one of the most used FS resources out there. I will endeavour to keep you all up to date with any developments.

Heres some more information:

Quote

I want to provide everyone with a non-technical view of what took place yesterday and last night so that some of the rumors that are already starting to spread are corrected.

During the early evening yesterday, we noticed that some alarming things were starting to happen on our servers. The first sign of an issue was that some functionality disappeared on our web server. That progressed to not being able to access the web server via FTP or SSH. Finally, the web/forum server tripped offline. Next the library/email server started to exhibit issues. We went in to reboot it, and that is when it failed entirely. The partitions on both of the servers had been removed. We shut down both servers until we can get a technical member up to our Network Operations Center (NOC), and do a comprehensive inspection of the damage.

I have seen some rumors and speculation already on the various forums in the community, and I would like to make sure that everyone knows the facts. Here are some:

Early in the evening, I sent out a bulk email to all forum members letting them know that we anticipate shutting down the Web/Forum server for a period of time. About a third of the way through the process of sending that email to all 60,000 forum members, the hacker succeeded in bringing the server down. The email was did not get sent to everyone. The reason I sent the email, based on what we knew at that time, was because that a minimum, we would need to shut the web/forum server down to inspect the unit and do repairs. At the time the email was sent, we were unaware that a hack was in progress and that our system would be taken offline entirely. There were no hoaxes involved, as some have asserted.

(Original post here: http://linux.myalbem...o...p?f=32&t=10 )

Theres is also a quote about backups:

Quote

Some have asked whether or not we had back ups. Yes, we dutifully backed up our servers every day. Unfortunately, we backed up the servers BETWEEN servers. That is, GREEN, our library server, would be backed up to PURPLE, our WEB/Forum server. That way, if one or the other failed, we would have a back up on the remaining active server. The hacker took out both servers, destroying our ability to use one or the other back up to remedy the situation.

(Original post here: http://linux.myalbem...o...p?f=32&t=13 )

[Baldwyn]

Suppose as it's a quite low quality site, its quite hackable and a good target for hackers.

Lets hope the boffins can figure it out

[Eric]

Wow, really? If this is truly the case talk about a huge asset lost. Avsim had the largest file library... Basically ever.

I would be interested in more details, and have they heard of backups?

BTW, where did he originally post that announcement? (In other words, with the site/forums down, where should people go for updates?)

[Baldwyn]

Posted On Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avsim.com

[Dredd]

Tom made a post on FlightSimWorld too: http://www.flightsim...howtopic=169140

[Dredd]

A temporary forum has been set up for AVSIM over here:

http://linux.myalbem...orums/index.php

Linked too from JustFlight:

http://www.justfligh...asp?newsID=1198

[Baldwyn]

All we can do now really is wait to see the extent of the damage, and if the servers can be recovered. That and hoping that the hacker(s) left their IP Address on the way out.

[Tim]

As mentioned already, a temporary forum has been set up here:
http://linux.myalbem...orums/index.php
You can also make donations here.

I'd also like to add in the personal message posted by Tom:

Tom Allensworth said:

It's late on Wednesday and I have been at this since 5 or so this morning, but I wanted to get this posted before calling it a night.

I have to say that in the 24 hours since we were battling an attack on our servers, the community has raised the bar as to the definition of that community and its support for AVSIM. We have had hundreds of email offering help; dozens of message here in the forums offering assistance. We have seen flight sim enthusiasts not only outraged by the destruction of AVSIM, but with an awe inspiring willingness to assist, in any way that they can.

More people have invested in the future of AVSIM today via donations in a single, short day than we have ever seen in our nearly 13 years of operation. I am shocked, frankly, by the desire for the community to see us continue and your willingness to put your investment into our future.

We are sincerely humbled by the wealth of support and the sincerity of those who have posted here and who have sent us email . I can't tell you how important is the out pouring of support to us - it is truly a testament to the hard work, effort and contribution of a whole bunch of folks on our team.

I have to also confess that at this time last night and even in the early hours of this morning, I had thought; "This is it... AVSIM is no more. We should pull the plug on the servers and call it quits, sell the domain and move on to Steel Head fishing in Idaho or Oregon".

That is not going to happen. I can't tell you how much the messages of support, the donations and the unflinching resolve of the community has inspired us. It has truly been awesome. We can't quit now... It would be a sin against the family of AVSIM.

While I am at it, I want to thank Nels, Miquel, Francois, PMDG, and dozens of other web sites and forums for posting our press releases on the event, and following up with offers of support. I am one of the most competitive SOB's you will ever meet, and it is truly inspiring to have our competitors so emphatically show their support in spite of our competitive natures. AVSIM can only hope to repay that support someday. Thank you guys!

That's it. I am done for the night. Thank you everyone for your support and your faith in AVSIM. We WILL be back!

In regards to backups:

Tom Allenswoth said:

Some have asked whether or not we had back ups. Yes, we dutifully backed up our servers every day. Unfortunately, we backed up the servers BETWEEN servers. That is, GREEN, our library server, would be backed up to PURPLE, our WEB/Forum server. That way, if one or the other failed, we would have a back up on the remaining active server. The hacker took out both servers, destroying our ability to use one or the other back up to remedy the situation.

Even though all of the files appear to be lost, I believe that this will actually make Avsim much better and stronger when they come back. If they build the site from scratch, it may be better than ever.

[Milk]

Damn!
I tried warning a lot of flightsim sights about #iamthewalrus, who are a hacking group.
I had to even warn Eric, here on these forums.

I spy on their chat, and they were planning attacking flightsim sites...
I presume, that is who it is.


I also noticed a lot of people on the forums saying that they hope they catch the people who did it. The issue is, that a lot of things now-a-days are bots: completely zombified. Very hard to trace back.

[Phil]

Noooo!
I hope it will be fixed

[Dredd]

Its official ...

http://news.bbc.co.u...ogy/8049780.stm

[Leginmat]

It still stumps me why they didn't bother with an offline backup.