Is Ebenefits Down Again? ?

[Shyne-I]

Can anyone log in this morning?

Shyne-I

[Loose Cannon]

Be patient boys and girls. There's a bunch of guys scouring logs for SQL errors. Could be weeks to figure out exactly what went wrong.

Hey AB,

Thanks for the info last night. It was followed up on today...proving very helpful. You seem to know more details/info...care to reveal the source of this new info? Again...just trying to separate fact from fiction.

Thanks bud.

LC

[Loose Cannon]

I put this on gretawire.com and emailed my Congressional reps. Let's get loud people, make ourselves hard to ignore...

Great job lotzasspotz. Hope we can continue to keep getting others to do the same.

LC

[AmicusBrief]

Hey AB,

Thanks for the info last night. It was followed up on today...proving very helpful. You seem to know more details/info...care to reveal the source of this new info? Again...just trying to separate fact from fiction.

Thanks bud.

LC

I have no first hand knowledge of the problem. I suspect the issue was a bad code line handling a transaction to the SQL server. The site front page indicated that login was locked out during event. Yet, people could still login and see others info. There's always the possibilty the site was intentionally hacked too. The SEL just broke into Microsoft's servers and retrived emails. These guys are good at getting in to seemingly secure servers. Just look at the Kaptoxa hack into Target, Neiman Marcus, etc. Injecting that malware code into a network is a coup d'etat. When you consider that Kaptoxa was offered for sale on the dark side for a little over $1100 there are lots of smart dudes willing to try their hand at stealing the golden goose. Edited January 18, 2014 by AmicusBrief

[Loose Cannon]

I have no first hand knowledge of the problem. I suspect the issue was a bad code line handling a transaction to the SQL server. The site front page indicated that login was locked out during event. Yet, people could still login and see others info. There's always the possibilty the site was intentionally hacked too. The SEL just broke into Microsoft's servers and retrived emails. These guys are good at getting in to seemingly secure servers. Just look at the Kaptoxa hack into Target, Neiman Marcus, etc. Injecting that malware code into a network is a coup d'etat. When you consider that Kaptoxa was offered for sale on the dark side for a little over $1100 there are lots of smart dudes willing to try their hand at stealing the golden goose.

Yeah, I get what your saying although I'm not quite up to speed on all the computer lingo you mentioned. It's one thing for the VA to keep us in the dark on our claim information...everyone knows they're pros at doing just that AND they've been successful at that...for years it's been their SOP with little repercussions.

I don't thing many here trust them on anything anymore. I predict they will continue to minimize the damage and offer a few vets compensation for this breach in the way of credit monitoring for a year or two. That's not an acceptable remedy. Who really knows how vast this breach was and for how many years we will have to worry about the information that was released?

Sucks, but it is now an FBI issue and hope an appropriate, thorough investigation will provide more facts until someone is accountable. I don't think that's too much to expect. Anyhoo...taken steps to minimize any damage and moving on to the bigger issues now.

Just another hurdle we must jump over! Keep fighting brothers & sisters...

LC

Edited January 18, 2014 by Loose Cannon

[FormerMember]

Carlie is right in her assessment of Ebennies. It's no more perfect than the ACA Healthcare site and undoubtedly they used either their own in-house IT krewe of comedians to erect it or the same outfit who did the ACA one. Regardless, Ebennies has always been an imperfect vehicle to ascertain the status of your claim. As most know, it is woefully behind in posting what often has already transpired in real time.

As Mr. L. Cannon has sagely observed, "I don't thing many here trust them on anything anymore". You'll pardon me if I have a myocardial infarction on the floor laughing about that one. I do not know how long he has been dealing with the august institution but allow me to confirm that their credibility was open for debate shortly after their inception in 1788. Unlike a fine claret, it has not improved with age-nor will it ever.

Ebenefits will eventually return in it's own good time. Congressional Interest will not speed things up one iota. Were that the case, all our claims would see some hidden, motivating force not unlike what we experience when we file a Writ of Mandamus at the Court. Start treating this new electronic porthole into the VA as nothing more than a welcome diversion (or entertainment) while you wait impatiently for the resolution of your claims. I'm pretty sure VA created it purely for entertainment value as it certainly cannot be relied on for factual information in a timely manner. It's best to view it as being akin to the Pony Express. You find out what happened in VA time rather than real time. Don't confuse the two.

a

clear prop

[lotzaspotz]

We are talking about the same site through which the VA is trying to force anyone filing a disability claim, using the correct form and filing electronically, correct? If that floats, this breach/breakdown's negative impact will be even more significant if their IT people can't prevent this from happening in the future.

Edited January 18, 2014 by lotzaspotz