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According to reports from CNBC, "Express", etc., "Down Detector is a website that aggregates reports of online service interruptions. At around 6:30 am EST, the platform has a surge in problems, which confirms all Google services-including its calendar. , Email applications and video conferencing applications-all are facing downtime."
So, my students sent me requests through MS Teams, wanting to cancel the final exam on December 14, 2020 (Monday), not because they were not ready, but because they wanted to use "Google search" no matter what. .
An hour and a half later, at approximately 8:00 AM Eastern Time, Google tweeted: "We are all okay, guys! Thank you for your continued company."
Source: Google's official push shown by CNBC on December 14, 2020
The students finally stopped being anxious, but this unexpected incident made me think about a question: how much our society relies on "search engines" to solve all daily needs.
The core reason why the US antitrust agenda wants to split the four giants is not only that most companies and people have had an irresistible urge to divert to these companies; but also because once a cyber attack occurs, millions of people It is possible to lose information to "cyber criminals" because all personal details (such as credit card information and political preferences) can be found through Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon.
The cloud computing systems of Amazon and Google store precious information in the United States and other parts of the world, which makes these monopoly giants invincible.
But in fact, the key question people want to understand is: "How does Google run around the clock? Will the 24-hour function hinder its security?"
In the early morning of December 14th, people who rely on Google's smart home system (Google Home) have been in the dark. Google meetings were closed midway, and Gmail, which was used by most companies and individuals to access various files and other data, also stopped operating.
Many large companies rely on Google's technology to authenticate access to their servers, such as Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, Pinterest, Netflix, Instacart, Tweeter and Dropbox. Even air-conditioning and lighting systems have ceased operation, and applications such as Youtube have been affected, making people feel bored.
Image source: Behance.net
So what happened?
A Google spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that there was a problem with the internal server that authenticated user credentials. This problem is caused by a small failure of the internal server. Does this claim sound reasonable?
A single location is served by multiple servers, which are also supported by other servers. Google adopts a digital design concept called "Site Reliability Engineering" (SRE for short), designed to never fail.
This concept was not proposed until 2006. These programs are designed to run around the clock. Compared with the IT manager running the management software, the software engineer himself can manage the algorithms to form a powerful synergy and reliable system.
These engineers developed a branch called "Dev-Ops", which is located in the field of software engineering. Coders not only need to design and run code, but also consider optimizing operations. In the computing field, development and operation have always been opposing forces. Developers always want to build software quickly and start it up as soon as possible, while operations staff want to ensure that everything is in order and changes are minimized.
Google just merged these two ideas.
At present, Google is facing antitrust lawsuits for repelling competition. The US Department of Justice stated that Google illegally made its search engine the default search engine for Android and Apple products, shutting out competitors. Concentrating all information in one place is not only an incentive to make huge profits, but also makes the company vulnerable to "cyber attacks."
The server downtime this time was suspected to be caused by a "cyber attack," which was further confirmed by the National Security Conference held at the White House later that day.
Image source: Pexels
A software tool called "Sunwind" was affected by malware during the update process. In addition to NASA and some Fortune 500 companies, the US Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department also use the software. Many people suspect that Google's downtime is to ensure that the system is not affected by malware. They are busy upgrading the system to prevent the server from being hacked.
Malware enables hackers to obtain sensitive information, but whether Google is one of the companies leaking its secrets, we have not yet answered the question. However, it is normal to use SRE to keep running around the clock. Under special circumstances like the above, the downtime of a company like Google may be to prevent "information theft."
As for my students, they completed a quiz without Google. Judging from their achievements, I am skeptical about the future of humanity without Google.
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Compilation Team: Li Qian, Wu Zijun
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