GitHub faces DDoS attack from Chinese botnets

GitHub, the popular code-hosting service used by many web and software developers, is under attack from what appears to be a coordinated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaign originating from Chinese IP addresses. The attack began at around 2AM EST on Thursday morning, and is still ongoing at the time of writing. GitHub’s status page shows that the site is currently unavailable, and the company has acknowledged the outage on its Twitter account.

We are currently experiencing the largest DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack in github.com’s history. — GitHub Status (@githubstatus) March 27, 2015. The attack appears to be targeting two GitHub repositories that are critical to the development of Chinese internet censorship tools. The first is GreatFire, a website that collects data on Chinese internet censorship and provides tools to help circumvent it. The second is cn-proxy, a repository of web proxy server IP addresses that can be used to access blocked websites. Both GreatFire and cn-proxy have been subject to DDoS attacks in the past, but this is the first time that GitHub has been targeted. It’s not clear why the attackers are targeting these specific repositories, but it’s possible that they’re trying to prevent Chinese users from circumventing government censorship.

How have people reacted to the attack on GitHub and what measures are being taken to stop it?

The attack on GitHub has provoked a strong response from the internet freedom community. Many people are using the hashtag #GitHubDown to express their outrage on social media, and a number of websites have set up mirrors of the GreatFire and cn-proxy repositories. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has also released a statement condemning the attack and calling on the Chinese government to stop it. In terms of measures being taken to stop the attack, GitHub has not released any details yet, but it’s likely that they are working with their upstream providers and other internet companies to identify the origin of the attack and block it.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. As of 8:00 PM EST on Thursday, GitHub was still experiencing outages as a result of the DDoS attack. The company has not released any new information about the attack, but it’s likely that they are still working to identify and block the source. In the meantime, people are continuing to express their outrage online using the hashtag #GitHubDown. As of Friday morning, the attack on GitHub appears to be over. The site is now accessible and all services are operational. GitHub has not released any additional information about the attack, but it’s likely that they are still working with their upstream providers and other internet companies to identify the origin of the attack and block it.

What implications could this have for both GitHub and China’s relationship with the rest of the world?

The attack on GitHub could have serious consequences for both GitHub and China’s relationship with the rest of the world. For GitHub, the attack could damage its reputation as a reliable code-hosting service and lead to a loss of business. For China, the attack could further damage its already strained relationship with the international community. In recent years, China has been increasingly accused of carrying out cyber attacks against foreign targets, and this attack is likely to add to those concerns.

The GitHub attack has provoked a strong response from the internet freedom community, with many people using the hashtag #GitHubDown to express their outrage on social media. The attack also appears to be having a significant impact on GitHub’s business, with the site experiencing outages as a result of the DDoS attack. China has been increasingly accused of carrying out cyber attacks against foreign targets in recent years, and this attack is likely to add to those concerns.