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by mantrax5 4385 days ago
Wow. FYI racket is defined as offering to solve a problem that does not exist, or that would not exist if the offerer wouldn't force it upon you.

Unless you're claiming the blackmail group is made up of Cloudflare employees, you should choose your words more wisely.
2 comments
danielweber 4385 days ago
In the security industry I've seen people watch exploits and DDoS attacks and all sorts of chaos with unfettered glee. It's good for business, it's good for my consulting, and (IMHO the key thing) it's good for increasing the social status of security people. "This is why you listen to me!" Plus we or our friends get to be interviewed by NPR. Hi, Mom!

Still, saying they are a racket is a step too far. There were lots of accusations of the antivirus vendors purposefully releasing viruses in the 80s and 90s[1], which would certainly be a racket if it were true.

[1] Not counting the products themselves as viruses.

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flym4n 4385 days ago
> [1] Not counting the products themselves as viruses.

Pretty bold assumption IMO

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pktgen 4385 days ago
IMO, CloudFlare meets this definition. For many DDoS victims, the problem would not exist without CloudFlare's help. Many cases like this are not some big bad guy with their own sizable botnet, they're just some kid using a booter bought with mommy's credit card. Without those booters being easily available, there would be no problem.

DDoS wouldn't go away without booters, but many small cases like this would be significantly reduced.

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