VeriSign responds to complaints via press release

[Jeff Wasilko <jeffw () smoe org>]

----- Forwarded message from Dave Farber <dave () farber net> -----

If this was Microsoft issuing a statement like this we would really go 
through the roof. Since when in the Internet do we talk with technical 
people AFTER the fact and AFTER the disruption.  In other words BULL. Can 
we sue them for email disruption?

Dave


> Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 19:27:49 -0400
> From: "Wingfield, Nick" <Nick.Wingfield () wsj com>
> Subject: VeriSign update
> To: "'dave () farber net'" <dave () farber net>
>
>
> Dave,
> In case it's of interest to IP...
> Nick
>
>
> =WSJ: VeriSign Responds To Complaints About New Service
>
> Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones
>
>
>   By Nick Wingfield
>   Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
>
>  SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--VeriSign Inc. (VRSN), responding to an
> outpouring
> of complaints about a new service that exploits the typing errors users make
> when surfing the Web, said it plans to work with technologists to remedy
> disruptions the service has caused to some Internet applications like
> e-mail.
>
>  At the same time, the VeriSign service triggered a huge increase in the
> amount
> of traffic flowing to the Mountain View, Calif., company's Web site, a
> portion
> of which may be the result of a hacker attack against the company, VeriSign
> said.
>
>  (This story and related background material are available on the Journal's
> Web
> site, WSJ.com.)
>
>  VeriSign on Monday introduced the service, dubbed Site Finder, which
> steers
> users who attempt to reach nonexistent Web addresses to a site operated by
> VeriSign. The company is able to take control of the traffic because it
> operates
> the master list, or "registry," for all Internet addresses ending in ".com"
> and
> ".net."
>
>  VeriSign said it designed Site Finder as a navigational aid for Web users.
> It
> also receives revenue from the additional traffic through relationships with
> Overture Services Inc. (OVER) and Yahoo Inc.'s (YHOO) Inktomi, which guide
> users
> to Web sites.
>
>  The new VeriSign service infuriated many network operators, though, who
> say it
> has disrupted the functioning of e-mail and other applications. Among the
> complaints about the VeriSign service is that it hurts the ability of
> Internet
> service providers to block "spam" sent from Internet addresses that don't
> exist
> - a common technique normally used to stem the flow of junk e-mail. Internet
> service providers and software groups have developed patches that prevent
> the
> VeriSign service from working on their networks.
>
>  In a statement Tuesday, VeriSign said it would release technical
> information
> on its Web site that would help network operators adapt their software so
> they
> could block unwanted e-mail again. "In the course of implementation, various
> users asked us to modify the service to accommodate anti-spam applications,"
> the
> company said in the statement. "Because VeriSign strongly supports
> appropriate
> technical measures designed to reduce unwanted spam, we are reaching out to
> users and the community to make appropriate adjustments to the service."
>
>  "We remain committed to ensuring that Site Finder improves Web navigation
> and
> the user experience," VeriSign added.
>
>  Despite the controversy, VeriSign's efforts to nab control of typo-prone
> Internet users appears to be having a sizable impact on the volumes of users
> visiting its site. Traffic to the company's Web site on Tuesday skyrocketed
> to
> about 1.3 million visitors from an average of about 100,000 visitors on the
> previous four Tuesdays, according to measurement firm ComScore Networks Inc.
>
>
>  Some of that may have been due to malicious - not typo - traffic. A
> VeriSign
> spokesman said the company experienced a "denial of service" attack on its
> Web
> site on Tuesday, in which hackers use computers to bombard Web sites with
> traffic in hopes of overloading them. The attack appeared to subside by
> Wednesday, the spokesman said. A ComScore spokesman said it's "very
> unlikely"
> that a denial of service attack on VeriSign had a significant impact on the
> ComScore traffic figures.