Parler claims that Amazon deliberately left a security hole open, giving hackers the ability to target the social media platform’s inner workings.
Parler said in a court filing on Monday that Amazon deliberately left open Amazon Route 53, a Domain Name System web service, which invited hackers, according to a report by Washington Times.
“In other words, AWS essentially illuminated a large neon arrow directing hackers to Parler’s backup datacenters,” said Parler in the court filing.
“And the hackers got the message, launching an extremely large attack — one 250 times larger and 12-24 times longer than the average [Distributed Denial-of-Service] attack,” Parler added.
The social media platform went on to say that AWS later eliminated the Route 53 link, but that the damage was already done, as the “AWS-facilitated attack” made it clear to others that if they hosted Parler, they would experience hacks as well.
“AWS didn’t just put Parler up a creek without a paddle — it banished it up the Columbia River without a boat and made sure no other boats would be willing to come to the rescue,” said Parler in the court filing.
Amazon had booted Parler off its web hosting service Amazon Web Services (AWS), claiming that users on the platform might “incite violence” — a new narrative pushed by several tech giants in order to justify censoring, banning, and ostracizing political dissenters and competition.
Parler responded by filing a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that the tech giant’s decision was “motivated by political animus,” rather than a concern for public safety.
The social media platform has since resurfaced online following the registration of its domain with the web-hosting company Epik.
Parler still appears to be under construction, however, as the website currently displays a message from the company’s CEO, as well as from other investors of the social media site.
Last weekend, Parler CEO John Matze announced that the social media platform will be back soon, adding that “free speech is essential, especially on social media.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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