Danny
11th Apr 2008, 20:35
Earlier today, many of you using computers located on MoD property found that it was impossible to log into your PPRuNe profiles because your IP address was banned.
The reason for the blocking of the MoD IP address was because someone using a computer located on an MoD site was systematically trying to log into many users accounts. The person attempting to log into accounts was probably trying several basic password options in the hope that they'd eventually be able to log into someone else's account and use that identity to cause trouble or something more sinister.
The IP address was blocked temporarily whilst attempts were made to trace the culprit. For security reasons, we cannot divulge how we found out about the hacking attempt but any future attempts to hack into users accounts will be traced much more quickly and efficiently.
So, apologies to those of you who were temporarily locked out of PPRuNe. The hacking attempts appear to have abated, at least for the time being. Hopefully, we will not have to resort to such drastic measures again.
Please make sure that you have a password that is not easily hacked and is not the same as your Username. Ideally, your password should include both alpha and numeric digits and be at least 8 characters long. If you think someone has attempted to hack into your account, please let us know using the 'contact us' link on any PPRuNe page. If you have an invalid or obsolete email address in your profile, you will not know whether someone has attempted to hack your account.
The reason for the blocking of the MoD IP address was because someone using a computer located on an MoD site was systematically trying to log into many users accounts. The person attempting to log into accounts was probably trying several basic password options in the hope that they'd eventually be able to log into someone else's account and use that identity to cause trouble or something more sinister.
The IP address was blocked temporarily whilst attempts were made to trace the culprit. For security reasons, we cannot divulge how we found out about the hacking attempt but any future attempts to hack into users accounts will be traced much more quickly and efficiently.
So, apologies to those of you who were temporarily locked out of PPRuNe. The hacking attempts appear to have abated, at least for the time being. Hopefully, we will not have to resort to such drastic measures again.
Please make sure that you have a password that is not easily hacked and is not the same as your Username. Ideally, your password should include both alpha and numeric digits and be at least 8 characters long. If you think someone has attempted to hack into your account, please let us know using the 'contact us' link on any PPRuNe page. If you have an invalid or obsolete email address in your profile, you will not know whether someone has attempted to hack your account.