Source: MSFT/Danger's Servers Were Sabotaged

By Jane McEntegart
published

There's been quite a lot of toing and froing when it comes to Microsoft/Danger's huge, server-related boo-boo. While customers are sobbing, mourning the loss of all their data, folks are asking the same question over and over, "How did this even happen?"

Previous reports suggested that the good folks at Microsoft-owned Danger failed to back up user data before a SAN (Storage Area Network) upgrade. The company had Hitachi in to do the job for them and for some reason, no one at Danger backed anything up before Hitachi did the deed. Hiptop3 cites several sources that say something went wrong during the upgrade, everything was lost and there was no working backup to save the day. Today there's another, more sinister story doing the rounds: Someone at Danger did this on purpose. AppleInsider cites an anonymous source who says 'all signs point to sabotage.'

"Someone with access to the servers at the datacenter must have inserted a time bomb to wipe out not just all of the data, but also all of the backup tapes," said the source, adding, "Finally, I suspect, reformatting the server hard drives so that the service itself could not be restarted with a simple reboot (and to erase any traces of the time bomb itself)."

Now sabotage is a big jump to make. Sure, no IT professionals in their right mind would start any kind of server maintenance work without backing everything up first but accidents happen, right? Well AppleInsider's source seems to think that it's definitely plausible, explaining that this outage just didn't fit in with what ordinarily happens.

"If this was an ordinary sort of failure, the service would have come back within a day, so once again, all signs point to sabotage."

Man, I don't mean to rub it in, but Sidekick users must be getting more mad with each passing day.

Read the full scoop on AI.

Jane McEntegart
31 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jcknouse
    Um...if for some reason the scheduled system backup failed and no one checked it to make sure, they could have assumed there was a good backup and just told Hitachi they had one. Then when they went to restore...OOPS!

    So much for QA, huh? lol
    Reply
  • bill gates is your daddy
    Sounds like someone is in a mad rush to find a scapegoat quick...no matter how convoluted it sounds. I'm surprised they have not blamed this on terrorism.

    Just accept the blame and bend over.
    Reply
  • davidhbrown
    A program that wiped all their off-site tapes (presuming they had any)? That's some program.
    Reply
  • darkknight22
    I read the full article on Apple Insider, interesting read. The real problem is that Danger was running Linux/Oracle due to contractual obligations with T-Mobile. Apparently Microsoft's Forensic Team has 0 experience in that department and can't track down what really happened.

    Overall the management setup between Danger/Microsoft/T-Mobile was just a mess waiting to happen.
    Reply
  • legierk
    Seemed to work to my advantage...got my wife out of the TMobile contract she was in WITHOUT PENALTIES and got her on my plan (different carrier) due to this snafu.
    Reply
  • jrsdav
    AppleInsider cites a anonymous source that is saying "Sabotage!"?

    Attacks made towards one of the iPhone's biggest competitors, the Sidekick?

    Sounds like this is one for the Jobs Mob conspiracy buffs.
    Reply
  • magicandy
    I smell a created scapegoat to take the fall for Danger's/MS's upgrade screw-up.
    Reply
  • terr281
    (I am not saying the story is true, but...)

    I work in IT dealing with the daily backups (and restores) of data for a mid-sized company. The story could be true if the following were true in their enterprise:

    1. Their backup software resides on the same SAN as the actual data. (Very plausible.) This would erase the "catalog of backups" and the actual backup program at the same time as the data. (Formating an entire corporate SAN is NEVER done.) If backups of the backup software's catalog were not done correctly, or if paper/other records of these backups were not kept, then trial-and-error of "which tape to use" would be the only solution to get the data back.

    2. Same situation as above, with the data and backup catalog being deleted/corrupted at the same time, but this time the "former employee" at Danger was the Backup Administrator. Due to his/her position, he could easily have destroyed/corrupted all records of the backups. (This could have been done manually... OR... as the suggestion states, with a time bomb program.) Again, paper (or other electronic records, such as emails to multiple parties), are the only solution to correct this one.

    In short, if Danger's corporate policy did not require more than one person to be involved in the backup process (even X years ago prior to the merger), and "other forms" of records were not the norm now, then this is plausible.
    Reply
  • tayb
    The fact that this story is coming from Apple Insider makes it more believable. Apple Insider isn't exactly known for unbiased articles why in the world would they write an article shifting the blame AWAY from Microsoft?
    Reply
  • Honis
    People actually read Apple Insider? It is the Fox News of technology!

    Sidekick users should jump ship while T-Mobile is letting them break contract with no penalties and get a phone with local storage of user data.
    Reply