AT&T Crippling Flashmob Organizer Backtracks
Remember the flashmob plan hatched by Fake Steve Jobs? Well now Fake Steve isn't so sure about the whole thing.
Dan Lyons AKA Fake Steve earlier this week posted about "Operation: Chokehold." The idea was to have so many users crowd AT&T's network that the whole thing would grind to a halt. Naturally, this idea received a lot of attention from the media and, while Fake Steve has yet to receive direct word from AT&T, it seems he's having second thoughts about the idea.
In a post titled, "Is Operation Chokehold Illegal? Or just stupid? Should we do something else?" Dan writes that many have said the stunt could be illegal and that "Dear Leader might be facing years of prison time for his role in inciting this peaceful protest." Leaving aside the fact that he thinks taking down AT&T's network is a peaceful protest, Lyons does seem a little confused as to how to proceed. He's also not sure if he can stop it from happening anymore.
We presume that if AT&T believed the protest was illegal, they would have used that word in their statement about Chokehold.
Also for the record, from our point of view this is all just a joke that has spun out of control and gained a life of its own. We didn’t think anyone would actually do this. But now it’s on Twitter, and some kid has set up a Facebook group and it already has 1,600 fans. There’s even an opposition group on Facebook set up by critics of Operation Chokehold. They’ve only got 17 fans, but still.
The point is, I’m not sure we can stop this thing.
Anyone else think he sounds kind of like one those kids who advertised his or her birthday party on Twitter or MySpace and then realized what mistake it was when 400 people showed up and trashed the house? Yeah, me too. Read the whole post here.
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In other-words I don't want to go to prison.
It has nothing to do with a DDoS from a legal standpoint, they are not bots, they are willing AT&T chained customers. The guy is merely using his 1rst Amendment rights.
Down with AT&T
In other-words I don't want to go to prison.
It has nothing to do with a DDoS from a legal standpoint, they are not bots, they are willing AT&T chained customers. The guy is merely using his 1rst Amendment rights.
Down with AT&T
Nobody is talking about blocking any signal whatsoever. It is not the responsibility of the end user to keep the network up. They are acting within the normal boundaries of the stupid dataplan contract they signed.
Under FCC regulation, it is prohibited to willfully and maliciously interfere with a signal.
Under law, it is illegal to cause damage to one's systems or devices with intent.
It is NOT illegal for a bunch of people to get on AT&T's network and send tons of data which cause it to be maxed to capacity.
Otherwise, they would be filing suit against superbowl organizers, the City of New York for their New Years Eve celebration in the Times Square area, etc.
Now if they were hacking AT&T's system and specifically targeting some of their routers or muxes on their fibre network, that'd be different.
Personally, I think it's stupid to try and "flood" their network with data. AT&T is just going to make money from it with people who go over their plan.
Go with the cheapest plan on the phone you can, and use it sparingly. Then get out at the end of the contract, and write the President/CEO of AT&T and tell them why they're losing your business.
If you want to hurt a business bad? Stop spending money with them, and they will go away.
Dont TXT 911 tho...
Sure, you could argue it was AT&T's fault for your neighbor dying because the ambulence didn't get there in time, but even Sprint/Verizon/etc. would have network problems if every cell phone user in the area decided to use their phones at the same time.
Sorry Tom, knowingly participating in an organized protest that blocks access to public, municipal, or government services without first acquiring a permit IS most certainly against the law.
Note the first ammendment protects speech and freedom to assemble. 1) speech is not unlimited. Vocally inciting a riot IS against the law, and successful challenges against that have been upheld by the supreme court. 2) since there's no organized assembly, and no permit issued for such, that clause does not apply. This has also been backed by the supremes.
Participating in this event is tatamount to KNOWINGLY PARTICIPATING in an action that causes financial distress and denial of access to services. There can be clear financial lines drawn and numerous civil and criminal penalties will be brought down on those confirmed to be participants (and don't think for a minute that would be hard to do). AT&T also could simply issue a statement, via free text directly to all AT&T devices that the use of high bandwidth apps during that time period is forbidden, and doing so will void your contract with penaties, and then anyone who does participate, AT&T kicks from the network, and sends a big bill for their prorated balances.
This attack is no different than asking people to turn on all their electrical appliances and bring down the power grid or open all the faucets and deprive other of water. No network is designed to carry maxima theoretical load. You wouldn’t want to pay for the bill to build something so wasteful and inefficient.
Well, it wouldn't be illegal to participate--you're just using your phone as designed. Even if it were illegal, unless you were stupid about it (bragging on twitter/facebook about how you helped take the ATT network down, for example), how could they prove you were downloading that data and talking on your phone for the purpose of bogging down the network? Organizing it, as you point out, could be a different issue.
When you have issues with the network just complain as much as you can about it and have everybody do the same , zelannii has a point there.
Mr Smith browsed the web with his iPhone and dowloaded 200 mb of music of iTunes! This is a crime, we can not permit such a terrorist atack on our great nation. All customers that made more than 128 KB of trafic are accomplices to bringing a national service down, a service that the lives of our great american citizens depend on (cuz we are inteligent).Do not be fooled by right this people havehave. They only have the right to pay for theyr data plans!
Long live AT&T !
wake up !!!!!!!!!