Downtime and Maintenance Update

[Chris]

It's not without saying that I care passionately about the Pride of Nottingham and Notts County.

Our recent downtime had been caused by a cyberattack, where hacker(s) caused significant damage to our site. This attack is unjustified and the people responsible cannot validate their actions. Football is about unity, whilst rivalry is a natural part of the game. To resort to this type of behaviour is very cowardly and in the long run what did it achieve? No amount of excuses can humanly explain this behaviour.

At this stage, I can't go into the full details, but there will be a point where I will provide a further update.

I fully believe in transparency and accountability, I hold my hands up and say that I should have done better, and I can honestly say I will learn from this in the future. I will ensure that the best practices are used to avoid such a pathetic attack. I can say, without a doubt, that only damage was conflicted. No data was accessed. Passwords are encrypted within the database and nothing was retrieved.

I have made sure to check this, along with a friend who is a very knowledgable person within this field.

We could have been back somewhat sooner, although I did take the time to move hosts. You should notice the benefit of us running a dedicated server, with a lot more resources behind us. I wanted to ensure that we thoroughly inspected every area of the site, considering the extensive number of files. It is important to dedicate sufficient time to this task. The worst scenario would be to neglect corners and wish for the best.

Further security is being used and whilst I politely ask that we focus on the positives, not the issue I outlined in the start.

I do share your frustration about the downtime. I sincerely hope if you read this you will get behind the Pride of Nottingham, and we can firmly pick up from where we were previously. COYP!

All the best.
Chris

[Fan of Big Tone]

Thinking positively I am looking forward to PoN getting back to full strength, we were doing so well just before the attack and we can get back there again with the help of the community.

 

[Chris]

Just to mention, I am aware something is throwing an error within the themes. I'm hoping to get to the bottom of why the avatars won't show in topics. The issue is caused by a bug in the moods feature.

I forgot to say thank you to Richard, Terabyte and my dad!

All three have been a huge support.

[Fozzy]

Nice to see that it is back up and running @Chris and thank you to all involved for their hard work.
Rumour has it that although the site was down @Fan of Big Tonewas still able to access it and live on here as normal!

[Chris]

@Fozzy Don't you know it, I should start changing him rent if he continues to live here.  

It's great to be back.

[super_ram]

As the news spreads and members return I'd like to say "Welcome back".There may be a few who drowned their sorrows  yesterday but come on,,as someone said to me  on Saturday "worse things happen at sea".As the old song says-Pick yourself up,dust yourself down,start all over again. As Delia said"let's be 'aving you"

[Fan of Big Tone]

8 hours ago, Fozzy said:

Rumour has it that although the site was down @Fan of Big Tonewas still able to access it and live on here as normal!

Indeed it’s been very lonely rattling around on my own in here, cold as well but I was cosy warm in my sleeping bag. 

[Piethagoram]

Saturday's performance (non) ..really hurts...but I am glad the site is back up

[DangerousSausage]

Thank you @Chris and everyone who was involved in getting us up and running again! Good to hear about the new host as well, as least something positive has come of it. 

[super_ram]

22 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

Thank you @Chris and everyone who was involved in getting us up and running again! Good to hear about the new host as well, as least something positive has come of it. 

Good to see you again @DangerousSausageWelcome back.

I'm not rushing you but when can we expect The Prediction League to resume ?

[super_ram]

Apologies @DangerousSausage,I've just found your post elsewhere.

Right, where were we? 

Firstly, by the time the site went down, this round (11) was done and dusted, I'd posted your scores and the latest table and the usual hilarious banter was underway. Half of the posts on this thread are missing, but the good news is that I've got ALL your scores and the latest table (including round 11) safely on my PC. I'll post them again later.

When the site was zapped into cyberspace, I'd posted the fixtures for round 12 and a handful of you had predicted. Obviously that round is cancelled, as well as round 13 (which would've been yesterday). I'll try to fit them in later in the season, or failing that we'll do a couple of rounds with double points. Providing we don't have any more hiccups, I'll post the fixtures for round 14 on Wednesday!

[cheeky~k8]

Glad its back up too for everyone who enjoys being part of it

[Countyman]

I regret to say that those responsible for the disruption seem to lack empathy and may be misguided to target such a welcoming platform. Their actions could be driven by ill intentions. I was relieved when the site was restored, as I had been puzzled about its absence. When I saw the maintenance page, I simply thought there had been a technical issue. It’s comforting to see the site back and functioning efficiently. I truly missed browsing and reading PON. It indeed holds a unique charm.

[CliftonMagpie]

I was filled with anger, frustration, and worry for @Chris. He dedicates a significant amount of his time to managing this platform, often going above and beyond for us Notts fans, and yet he seldom receives the gratitude he deserves. The cyber attack must have been a dreadful experience for him, which is utterly disgraceful on the part of those involved.

It’s a relief to be back online, and I’m confident that it won’t be long before everything returns to normal. The sense of community here is unparalleled, so I hope that everyone will find their way back soon. Together, we can demonstrate that Notts and PON are the go-to places for our fans on the internet.

[Joshua]

Everything seems well managed, there was no need to rush. The unfortunate events were beyond your control and it’s sad that there are such malicious people out there. I hope they face justice, but as a community, we should concentrate on ourselves. It’s wonderful to have the site back! I’m excited to see it bustling again.

[menzinho]

Like you say I've no idea what attacking a site like this achieves, no gain for anyone really. It's great that's it's back up though, I've been boring my family and friends with all my Notts thoughts and opinions this past week!

[NottsCountyKev]

It’s great to see the site back up and running again. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into maintaining it and I’m hopeful that things will get better with time. Life throws many challenges our way, but some people always find a way to justify their poor decisions or unkind behaviour.

[RetroPie]

Thanks for explaining what happened. I'm sorry to hear that there are spiteful people who thought it was okay to attack PON. I'm so glad the site is back.

[liampie]

things do seem a lot faster now which is really nice, as is knowing pon is back. its spiteful what the hackers did. there is no point in it. lets hope they get whats coming to them because if you do this, you must be a pretty sad person.

[Sir Magpie]

On 15/10/2023 at 15:19, CliftonMagpie said:

I was filled with anger, frustration, and worry for @Chris. He dedicates a significant amount of his time to managing this platform, often going above and beyond for us Notts fans, and yet he seldom receives the gratitude he deserves. The cyber attack must have been a dreadful experience for him, which is utterly disgraceful on the part of those involved.

It’s a relief to be back online, and I’m confident that it won’t be long before everything returns to normal. The sense of community here is unparalleled, so I hope that everyone will find their way back soon. Together, we can demonstrate that Notts and PON are the go-to places for our fans on the internet.

I found the content of the article to be spot on, and I shared your indignation upon discovering that the site had been compromised. I’m immensely grateful that the site is back up and running, and it appears to be loading more smoothly than before. The decision to not only relocate but also enhance the site was a wise one. Although I don’t typically participate in forum discussions, I felt compelled to do so after receiving an email notification about this incident.

[allardyces tash]

I’m pleased to be back. It’s unfortunate that someone thought it was worth causing such distress. This reflects more on their values than anything else. However, Nottingham’s pride will recover. This site is friendly and enjoyable, and the community needs to stand together to ensure only good things happen. Thanks for the update and for working to make things better.

[KingMaynard]

This situation is shocking and terrible, but it appears to have been managed well. I hope that the person responsible faces the consequences of such a disgraceful act. The police need to address this as it’s completely unacceptable behaviour. It’s very cowardly.

[eighteensixtytwo]

It’s unfortunate to hear about the downtime and the problems that caused it. Hopefully, those responsible will move on and concentrate on their own lives, as there’s no justification for targeting PON. Best of luck to everyone, and thank you for resolving the issue.

[CliftonMagpie]

Quote

I found the content of the article to be spot on, and I shared your indignation upon discovering that the site had been compromised. I’m immensely grateful that the site is back up and running, and it appears to be loading more smoothly than before. The decision to not only relocate but also enhance the site was a wise one. Although I don’t typically participate in forum discussions, I felt compelled to do so after receiving an email notification about this incident.

Honestly, the forum discussions are excellent. You'll find many individuals sharing interesting topics, such as @piethagoram @fan of @dangeroussausage etc. There are no arguments, we simply discuss and everything is very civilised. You might find that your contributions enhance the discussion and encourage others to participate.

[Fan of Big Tone]

36 minutes ago, CliftonMagpie said:

There are no arguments

Only between me and @super_ram about who will be higher in the prediction league and Guess Who competitions.