Attackers hit Web hosting servers
An unknown attacker broke into a Web hosting server belonging to Bargainhost.co.uk and obtained passwords for 1500 hosted websites. Several of Bargainhost's customers' websites were defaced afterwards. Worse yet, the attacker also damaged backups needed to rebuild the sites. Bargainhost reported that it was attempting to manually restore the sites, but could not estimate when it would be able complete this task. Meanwhile, Bargainhost urged its customers to change their passwords. Several of Bargainhost's customers have complained that the company has been remiss in fixing the problem; many have discontinued using Bargainhost's Web hosting service as a result of the break-in. After losing nearly seven months of emails, contacts, and forums, snowboarding site Powderroom.net has decided to move its Web hosting business elsewhere despite still having a two-year maintenance contract with Bargainhost. Powderroom's owner also stated that his company will from now on make its own Web server backups rather than rely on a Web hosting service provider.
Attackers also gained unauthorized access to servers of three Web hosting companies in the Netherlands, gaining access to data and destroying critical software. The Web hosting companies, like Bargainhost, did not fully disclose the details of the break-ins to their customers. Though one of the victim companies said that it made daily data backups, investigation of the incident revealed that no backup had been made in several months.