This week, Texas Kaos existence was threatened by hackers who got into the servers for Soapblox (software and hosting for Texas Kaos, Burnt Orange Report, and many other blogging communities on the left).
Tuesday afternoon, I was running on adrenaline and panic, trying to find a way to pull off TKs database in case the whole thing went belly up.
Fortunately, the immediate crisis resolved and all the sites served by Soapblox are back up now, but it pointed out that we need some work to shore up the foundations.
We're asking you to help raise the money to do just that. The full explanation of the plan is explained by Chris Bowers at Open Left, but the kernel of the plan is this:
Here is what Soapblox needs in the immediate short-term to become safe and secure once again:
--Recharge ten servers
--Perform a full security audit of the SoapBlox server/unix infrastructure to prevent hackers from gaining access
--Ensure all backup process are working and functional to guarantee that if hacking happens, data is preserved
--Perform a security audit on the SoapBlox code itself so that hackers cannot exploit the SoapBlox code itself.
--Migrate to new, secure servers
The good news is that, in addition to restoring full service for Soapblox, Paul has already found a system administrator who lives in his area and is able to help. All of the work listed above is currently underway. Here is what it will cost:
--Recharging ten servers at $100 apiece: $1,000
--Purchasing new, secure severs, and migrating the data: $8,000
--One month of full-time work at $50 / hour in order to complete all of the tasks listed above: $8,400
