DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Code Spaces destroyed in wake of extortion demand

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Dissent

Ouch.

Here’s the cached copy of a notice that appeared on the code hosting site earlier:

Code Spaces : Is Down!

Dear Customers,

On Tuesday the 17th of June 2014 we received a well orchestrated DDOS against our servers, this happens quite often and we normally overcome them in a way that is transparent to the Code Spaces community. On this occasion however the DDOS was just the start.

An unauthorised person who at this point who is still unknown (All we can say is that we have no reason to think its anyone who is or was employed with Code Spaces) had gained access to our Amazon EC2 control panel and had left a number of messages for us to contact them using a hotmail address

Reaching out to the address started a chain of events that revolved arount the person trying to extort a large fee in order to resolve the DDOS.

Upon realisation that somebody had access to our control panel we started to investigate how access had been gained and what access that person had to the data in our systems, it became clear that so far no machine access had been achieved due to the intruder not having our Private Keys.

At this point we took action to take control back of our panel by changing passwords, however the intruder had prepared for this and had already created a number of backup logins to the panel and upon seeing us make the attempted recovery of the account he proceeded to randomly delete artifacts from the panel. We finally managed to get our panel access back but not before he had removed all EBS snapshots, S3 buckets, all AMI’s, some EBS instances and several machine instances.

In summary, most of our data, backups, machine configurations and offsite backups were either partially or completely deleted.

This took place over a 12 hour period which I have condensed into this very brief explanation, which I will elaborate on more once we have managed our customers needs.

Data Status

All svn repositories that had the following url structure have been deleted from our live EBS’s and all backups and snapshots have been deleted:
https://[ACCOUNT].codesapces.com/svn/[REPONAME]

All Svn repositoies using the following url format are still available for export but all backups and snapshots have been deleted:
https://svn.codespaces.com/[ACCOUNT]/[REPONAME]

All Git repositories are available for export but all backups and snapshots have been deleted

All Code Spaces machines have been deleted except some old svn nodes and one git node.

All EBS volumes containing database files have been deleted as have all snapshots and backups.

Code Spaces Status

Code Spaces will not be able to operate beyond this point, the cost of resolving this issue to date and the expected cost of refunding customers who have been left without the service they paid for will put Code Spaces in a irreversible position both financially and in terms of on going credibility.

As such at this point in time we have no alternative but to cease trading and concentrate on supporting our affected customers in exporting any remaining data they have left with us.

All that we can say at this point is how sorry we are to both our customers and to the people who make a living at Code Spaces for the chain of events that lead us here.

In order to get any remaining data exported please email us at support[at]codespaces.com with your account url and we will endeavour to process the request as soon as possible.

On behalf of everyone at Code Spaces, please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this has caused to you, and ask for your understanding during this time! We hope that one day we will be able to and reinstate the service and credibility that Code Spaces once had!


Related:

  • Toys “R” Us Canada customers notified of breach of personal information
  • Gatineau gymnastics centre warns members of possible data breach
  • Hotel and Casino near Las Vegas Strip suffers data breach, documents say
  • Attorney General James Announces Settlement with Wojeski & Company Accounting Firm
  • Data BreachesProsper Data Breach Impacts 17.6 Million Accounts
  • Gov't seeks police probe of KT for allegedly obstructing data breach investigation
Category: Business Sector

Post navigation

← Canada: Stolen Customer Data Results In Ontario’s First Certified Privacy Class Action
Bank not liable for customer’s $440,000 cybertheft →

2 thoughts on “Code Spaces destroyed in wake of extortion demand”

  1. Internet user says:
    June 18, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    I take it they weren’t using two factor auth on aws?

    1. Dissent says:
      June 18, 2014 at 8:27 pm

      Yeah, it would be helpful to know how they gained control of the control panel.

Comments are closed.

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • District of Massachusetts Allows Higher-Ed Student Data Breach Claims to Survive
  • End of the game for cybercrime infrastructure: 1025 servers taken down
  • Doctor Alliance Data Breach: 353GB of Patient Files Allegedly Compromised, Ransom Demanded
  • St. Thomas Brushed Off Red Flags Before Dark-Web Data Dump Rocks Houston
  • A Wiltshire police breach posed possible safety concerns for violent crime victims as well as prison officers
  • Amendment 13 is gamechanger on data security enforcement in Israel
  • Almost two years later, Alpha Omega Winery notifies those affected by a data breach.
  • Court of Appeal reaffirms MFSA liability in data leak case, orders regulator to shoulder costs
  • A jailed hacking kingpin reveals all about the gang that left a trail of destruction
  • Army gynecologist took secret videos of patients during intimate exams, lawsuit says

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • As shoplifting surges, British retailers roll out ‘invasive’ facial recognition tools
  • Data broker Kochava agrees to change business practices to settle lawsuit
  • Amendment 13 is gamechanger on data security enforcement in Israel
  • Changes in the Rules for Disclosure for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Records: 42 CFR Part 2: What Changed, Why It Matters, and How It Aligns with HIPAAs
  • Always watching: How ICE’s plan to monitor social media 24/7 threatens privacy and civic participation

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net
Security Issue: security[at]databreaches.net
Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight
Signal: +1 516-776-7756
DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.