Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) - Nairaland / General - Nairaland
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| Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by fubbyy(m): 6:21pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
Fellow Nairalanders, On Sunday, the 22nd of June, at exactly 1:00PM, we lost access to Nairaland's server. I immediately asked our web host to fix the problem. They refused to discuss the situation with me until very early on Monday morning, when they told me that someone hacked their server management system and used it to gain access to our server. The hacker deleted everything on our server, including our backups which we kept in a separate disk on the same server. At that point, I knew that we had failed you in two ways: by relying on a web host which didn't follow security best practices, which led to their systems being hacked, and by storing our backups in a location where anyone who hacked our primary server would be able to access them and delete them. "Luckily", we recovered 8 years and 10 months of data out of the 9 years and 3 months of data that was lost, from a remote backup made in January. All topics and posts created in the last 5 months are gone. All users who registered within the last 5 months will have to register again. It's awful. The attackers probably downloaded our entire database including your usernames, email addresses, and password hashes. As a result of our use of hashing, salting, and key stretching, it won't be so easy for the attackers to steal your passwords if they are strong. However, we advice every Nairalander to please change his/ her Nairaland password immediately. Please logout and then visit http://www.nairaland.com/ login to use the password reset form. You can recover your most important data using the technique below (we could not apply it automatically due to data consistency issues) 1) Search Google for the title of your thread, e.g. (title of thread site:nairaland.com) 2) Copy the URL of the page on Nairaland where the information used to reside from the search results, e.g. www.nairaland.com/123456/title-of-thread 3) Search Google's cache for that URL, e.g. enter this into google: (cache: www.nairaland.com/123456/title-of- thread) Here's how we plan to secure your data in the future: 1) We've moved away from the host that lost our data to a very reputable host which is less likely to get hacked. 2) We've started storing our backups in remote location(s) that are completely independent of our primary server. 3) We're doing a full review of all our operations in order to greatly improve security in every way that we can. 4) We're trying to set up comprehensive disaster recovery plans so that Nairaland will survive no matter what happens. Nairaland is no longer just Seun Osewa's lucrative hobby. It is a vital resource that Nigerians and corporate bodies rely on. It must be protected and kept alive at all costs. It deserves to be managed, not by one feeble individual, but by a robust enterprise staffed by professionals who are the best at what they do. A robust enterprise that can defend Nairaland against all threats. I will devote the rest of my year to building such an enterprise. If you had some advertising credit in your account before the attack, please send an email to the usual address so we can sort things out. Sincerely, Seun Osewa. PS: We will do everything within our power to ensure that people are able to re-register the usernames that they held before the incident 1 Like |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by ifex370(m): 6:31pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
ah swear... seun js dey chop likes for dat one wey dey fp... monopoly  diaris God ooo 3 Likes |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by fubbyy(m): 7:47pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
I wonder why he no wan make people comment on that one,is he scared of critics 1 Like |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by BlackSwan: 8:11pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
^^^Obviously. He just wants to talk and run away, no questions asked, no queries, no criticisms, no opposition of any kind. The dude will never cease to amaze me with his behavior. 1 Like |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by EzePromoe: 8:33pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
But he gave us procedures on how we can retrieve our lost data, and I've retrieved mine. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Tval(m): 8:55pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
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| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by elderly: 9:35pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
Seun never saw this coming. He didnt even have a clear understanding of how his backup was being managed. Again, this shows lack of Business Continuity plans ( BCP). Web Security should be taken seriously and many companies are going to experience this in the near future especially, websites that have a lot of traffic considering that Nigerian webmaster do not have adequate knowledge about web security and best practices My advise to Seun and other Webmaster is take security seriously not be overconfident. Review your BCP plans, schedule penetration test from time to time and be updated in the world of security. You have a responsibility to secure people's data that have been entrusted to you. 2 Likes |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Seun(m): 9:38pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
elderly: Again, this shows lack of Business Continuity plans ( BCP).Correct. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by ifex370(m): 11:08pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
Seun:  |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Nobody: 11:37pm On Jul 01, 2014 |
Okay, lemme try to retrieve it.. buh, I don't I really understand the procedures. Thanks. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by birdman(m): 12:58am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Normally, an alternate backup with the same host is plenty secure, assuming that host is savvy enough to archive that data to cold storage on multiple remote sites. I am shocked that they wouldn't. Hard lesson to learn. Obviously nairaland is now grown up enough to attract malicious hackers  @seun, have you tried programmatically scraping google's cache for the lost thread data? I havent touched anything that crawls the web in long time, but I would imagine there are sophisticated enough open source engines that could make this easier to do. just a thought... |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Teespice(f): 7:34am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Eze Promoe: But he gave us procedures on how we can retrieve our lost data, and I've retrieved mine. Can same procedure be used to retrieve lost diary updates? |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Caracta(f): 7:49am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Black Swan: ^^^Obviously. He just wants to talk and run away, no questions asked, no queries, no criticisms, no opposition of any kind. I actually think that post settles everything. I was pissed at first but after I read that post, I calmed down. It can happen to anybody. We all make mistakes and lose valuable data. Seun has learnt from it. He likes his investment too much to let it crumble in seconds. Almost every member has questions. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by EzePromoe: 8:39am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Teespice:Yes. If you can provide links to your lost diary, I can retrieve your data for you. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by EzePromoe: 8:44am On Jul 02, 2014 |
adebayor1490: Okay, lemme try to retrieve it.. buh, I don't I really understand the procedures. Thanks.Here is a link to retrieve your lost data; http://www.cachedpages.com/ |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Idrismusty97(m): 8:45am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Eze Promoe:You can't. Remember dairies are private thread, guests can't view it. Have you done it for dairies before? |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Teespice(f): 9:42am On Jul 02, 2014 |
Eze Promoe: www.nairaland.com/1205083/life-world-space That's the link to the diary, only three pages lost. Don't know if they can be retrieved. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by fubbyy(m): 10:43am On Jul 02, 2014 |
The worst thing is that I started taking this nairaland very serious this year, researching and opening threads,wrote almost all my life experience in my diary thread hoping that this is internet that it will be forever safe here as long as I have my username and password Now I've known better that nothing is 100% guaranteed in this life 1 Like |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by EzePromoe: 12:16pm On Jul 02, 2014 |
Teespice:I think @Idrismusty97 was right. Diaries only are exception because of the guest status. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Teespice(f): 3:00pm On Jul 02, 2014 |
Eze Promoe: Thank you. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by DaimlerBen(m): 4:53pm On Jul 02, 2014 |
Am I the only one who checked out www.nairaland.com/123456? Gurus in the house, I can see the result of my topic in Google, but I can't get the page to open. What do I do? |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by telexfree1: 10:51pm On Jul 02, 2014 |
What if ? What if ? What if ? That January back up wasn't done. So Nairaland would have lost 9 years of data ? I cannot comprehend this. Well, hope you abide by your new security protocols 1 Like |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by fubbyy(m): 4:35pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
telexfree1: What if ?I thought about that too, if the whole 9 years data was lost damnnn this site is over, but is there nothing he can do to restore these few months lost? Because all my meaningful thread including a wonderful diary of my life are all gone |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by BlackSwan: 4:57pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Caracta:Ok, but he should have left the thread open for questions and picked the really important ones to answer. And if he had absolutely no choice but to lock the thread then he should have explained why he couldn't take questions e.g because he is busy, because he doesn't want trolling etc. He knows that people want answers to questions but he just denied them the chance to ask without explaining why, anyone can assume he did it out of inconsideration for us or because he thinks we're not worth his time or because he is scared of confrontation. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Seun(m): 5:35pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
fubbyy: The worst thing is that I started taking this nairaland very serious this year, researching and opening threads,wrote almost all my life experience in my diary thread hoping that this is internet that it will be forever safe here as long as I have my username and passwordPlease accept my personal apology to you. I actually feel the same way. I also started being more active on the forum recently, and I feel as if it's all gone. But really, it's not all gone. The things we learned from the forum and our memories of the wonderful discussions we had here are still intact. No hacker can steal them from our minds. We may not have detailed records anymore, but no hacker can steal our experiences. 9 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Emmaomotob(m): 5:56pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Seun: Please accept my personal apology to you. I actually feel the same way. I also started being more active on the forum recently, and I feel as if it's all gone. But really, it's not all gone. The things we learned from the forum and our memories of the wonderful discussions we had here are still intact. No hacker can steal them from our minds. We may not have detailed records anymore, but no hacker can steal our experiences.THAT IS AN INTELLIGENT ANSWER  Seun: Please accept my personal apology to you. I actually feel the same way. I also started being more active on the forum recently, and I feel as if it's all gone. But really, it's not all gone. The things we learned from the forum and our memories of the wonderful discussions we had here are still intact. No hacker can steal them from our minds. We may not have detailed records anymore, but no hacker can steal our experiences.THAT IS AN INTELLIGENT ANSWER |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by papindinho(m): 6:02pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
nice one |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Codedrock(m): 6:18pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Seun: Please accept my personal apology to you. I actually feel the same way. I also started being more active on the forum recently, and I feel as if it's all gone. But really, it's not all gone. The things we learned from the forum and our memories of the wonderful discussions we had here are still intact. No hacker can steal them from our minds. We may not have detailed records anymore, but no hacker can steal our experiences. Hello Mr seun, why are you still not replying my mail on how to get my ads credit back.. Abi shey u won make i cry ni.. I am an advertiser so what do i do? |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Seun(m): 6:26pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Codedrock: Hello Mr seun, why are you still not replying my mail on how to get my ads credit back.. Abi shey u won make i cry ni.. I am an advertiser so what do i do?Pls resend it |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by timpaker(m): 6:32pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Seun: Please accept my personal apology to you. I actually feel the same way. I also started being more active on the forum recently, and I feel as if it's all gone. But really, it's not all gone. The things we learned from the forum and our memories of the wonderful discussions we had here are still intact. No hacker can steal them from our minds. We may not have detailed records anymore, but no hacker can steal our experiences.Mr. Seun, I've tried all possible means to retrieve my poetic story from google cache but to no avail. I also tried using Mozilla browser too but it kept prompting me the "Webpage is unavailable". Please is there anything you can do about it? Its a matter of life and money to me. The name of the thread is "The Convict". Your kind assistance would be highly appreciated. Thanks in ad. |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by Seun(m): 6:48pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
timpaker: Mr. Seun, I've tried all possible means to retrieve my poetic story from google cache but to no avail. I also tried using Mozilla browser too but it kept prompting me the "Webpage is unavailable". Please is there anything you can do about it? Its a matter of life and money to me. The name of the thread is "The Convict". Your kind assistance would be highly appreciated. Thanks in ad.What's the title of your poem? |
| Re: Concerning Our Catastrophic Loss Of Your Valuable Data (comment Version) by timpaker(m): 7:15pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Seun: What's the title of your poem?"THE CONVICT" |
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