Parler’s Permanent Lifeboat Is About to Get Punctured
Published on January 22, 2021
- The anti-DDoS and security protection internet firm that offered its services to Parler is about to lose two-thirds of its IPs.
- The company was reported for fraudulent business activities as it may have created a shell company in Belize.
- Parler's time is shrinking, as does the number of fans of conspiracy theories willing to continue from here.
After large tech firms decided to pull the plug on Parler, the platform has been trying to find a way to get back alive while its community is still "hot." Parler is a social media platform that fosters the generation and distribution of fake news, hate speech, racism, and violence, all under the pretense of free speech. As such, no firms want to associate with it, and so the platform had to revert to second-class choices from companies with ambiguous motives.
The only internet company that extended a hand of friendship to Parler was the Russian digital infrastructure firm 'DDoS-Guard,' which, as the name suggests, would protect Parler from attempts to take it down through distributed denial of service attacks and would keep its servers hidden. However, and as Krebs on Security reports now, DDoS-Guard is about to lose more than two-thirds of the internet address space it leases to clients, including the addresses currently used by Parler.
The person responsible for this action against DDoS-Guard, and by extension Parler, is Ron Guilmette, a powerful researcher who wants to throw far-right conspiracy theorist platforms like Parler out of the clearnet, shut the door, and throw away the key. To do that, Guilmette has filed a complaint with the Latin American Internet registry (LACNIC) that holds 66% of DDoS-Guard’s IPv4 addresses, or 8,192 if you prefer that in number.
Following the investigation of Guilmette's complaint, LACNIC announced that the particular IPv4 addresses would be revoked, and the date for that was set on February 24, 2021. So, Parler still has some time to breathe and possibly find another raft to jump on. As expected, DDoS-Guard was disappointed by this decision and feel that they have done nothing wrong, illegal, or extremist by offering Parler their services.
LACNIC's possible justification for the suspension has nothing to do with providing services to websites like Parler, 8chan, and QAnon-related platforms. As it seems to be the case, DDoS-Guard has created a fraudulent shell company in Belize to indirectly access LACNIC IPv4 addresses. This is against the LACNIC policies, and it constitutes a reason for suspension and retraction.
Parler is gradually fading out, but it's clear that it won't go away without a fight. Guilmette will continue to report any platforms that may pop up like mushrooms even after Parler goes dark. Still, the main shift will only occur when the followership of these absurd theories eclipses. Thankfully, it looks like this process is already underway.
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