ATT blocks broadband internet traffic to 4chan site
July 27, 2009
Customers of AT&T's broadband internet service were blocked from accessing portions of the website 4chan.org, a messageboard that includes links to what some people consider objectionable images and content. AT&T acknowledged blocking the site temporarily to prevent cyberattacks originating from the site.
Beginning Friday, an AT&T customer was hit by a denial-of-service attack - a type of cyberattack -that came from IP addresses connected to img.4chan.org, AT&T said Monday.
"To prevent this attack from disrupting service for the impacted AT&T customer and to prevent the attack from spreading to impact our other customers, AT&T temporarily blocked access to the IP addresses in question for our customers," AT&T said.
The company said blocking broadband internet traffic to the website "was in no way related to the content at img.4chan.org," saying the intention was solely to protect customers from cyberattacks.
AT&T said it removed the block on the 4chan IP addresses by Sunday and "will continue to monitor for denial-of-service activity and any malicious traffic to protect our customers."
Web watchers have raised concerns about AT&T's move as an offense against the principle of net neutrality, proponents of which say broadband internet service providers should not deny service to any website.
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