AnimeNewsNetwork.com hacked?

[GHDpro]

Looks like AnimeNewsNetwork.com is having trouble with their domain name.

I'll refrain from linking to it here, but right now the site doesn't look like it is supposed to (for me).

Relevant Reddit thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comme...domain_hacked/

If their domain was hijacked this could take them some effort to fix and recover.

[MeoTwister5]

You guys better make some checks here FWIW.

[GHDpro]

Here's an update:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.cc/site-...etwork/.119882

TL;DR: www.animenewsnetwork.cc is the new URL until (and if?) they get their domain back

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

You guys better make some checks here FWIW.

I don't know how easy it was to hijack ANN's domain name, but I'd at least like to think for AnimeSuki.com it's not so easy.

[Marcus H.]

People are suggesting that whoever took over the domain has an agenda over ANN itself.
It would still be a good idea to check up on any vulnerabilities on our domain, though.

[GHDpro]

I've created a small forum plugin that rewrites all animenewsnetwork.com links to animenewsnetwork.cc links. This applies to any existing link no matter how old the post is.

Test: www.animenewsnetwork.com (try hitting "Quote" to see this originally is a link to the .com address)

This plugin will be removed once ANN recovers their domain (but that could take months).

[SeijiSensei]

One theory I've seen is that the hacker was really after the @anime Twitter handle that ANN owns.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

One theory I've seen is that the hacker was really after the @anime Twitter handle that ANN owns.

Which, ironically, was one of the first things they were able to recover (despite losing all the followers).

They have a new article up today with a pretty fascinating look at how they did it. Cell phone SIM card swap via tricking a customer service rep... pretty nasty.

[Archon_Wing]

This social engineering exploit has grown increasingly common over the years. They've attacked a number of popular Youtubers using it and it is disturbing that Cell Phone companies remain so lax over it.

If you ever lose service for long periods of time; might want to be cautious.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

via tricking a customer service rep

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

This social engineering exploit has grown increasingly common over the years.

When your average customer service model is based around hiring the cheapest labor possible, this is only makes the job of criminals easier. The irony is that it's actually harder for normal customers to conduct normal business than it is for social engineers (they're not all criminals). Years ago when dealing with an issue I couldn't escalate past customer service I had a business contact who offered to help. In a three way call I listened to this guy work over the customer rep like it was the most natural thing in the world. When you do what he did for a living it's something that comes very easy. You learn just the right questions to ask and just the right tactics to bypass human suspicion, and because of the way CS is set up you can fail as much as you want because you'll probably get a new rep every time.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Solace

When your average customer service model is based around hiring the cheapest labor possible, this is only makes the job of criminals easier. The irony is that it's actually harder for normal customers to conduct normal business than it is for social engineers (they're not all criminals). Years ago when dealing with an issue I couldn't escalate past customer service I had a business contact who offered to help. In a three way call I listened to this guy work over the customer rep like it was the most natural thing in the world. When you do what he did for a living it's something that comes very easy. You learn just the right questions to ask and just the right tactics to bypass human suspicion, and because of the way CS is set up you can fail as much as you want because you'll probably get a new rep every time.

Yup. At least for the latter issue, there are things they could do to make that aspect more difficult (e.g. put a note on someone's file if someone was denied, which would require escalation should they try again and not have every single duck in a row), but they generally don't. CS is trying to help and some people legitimately are quite confused... plus most people don't understand just how much is at stake in the first place (so they get offended if you don't just do whatever they ask on the first try, no matter what policies it may violate). It's a challenge, for sure.

[GHDpro]

Originally Posted by GHDpro

This plugin will be removed once ANN recovers their domain (but that could take months).

Probably a bit overdue, but this plugin is now disabled again.

www.animenewsnetwork.com will now link to the .com again, not .cc