Barrett Lyon
Encyclopedia
Early life and education
The son of a lawyer, Lyon was raised in Auburn, CaliforniaAuburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...
. Although he initially struggled in school due to dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, in middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
he became fascinated with computers. He soon found that the methods he used to overcome dyslexia allowed him to quickly gain an expert knowledge of computers. While in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, he set up Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
servers to host webpages for friends and also managed his school's computer network. In 1995, while investigating a possible vulnerability in Network Solutions
Network Solutions
Network Solutions, LLC is a technology company founded in 1979. The domain name registration business has become the most important division of the company. As of January 2009, Network Solutions managed more than 6.6 million domain names.-History:...
he accidentally caused AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's website to go down for three days. After high school, Lyon enrolled at California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, Sacramento, popularly known as Sacramento State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the California State University system...
and studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Opte Project
Lyon is the creator of the Opte ProjectOpte Project
The Opte Project is a project started by Barrett Lyon that seeks to make an accurate representation of the extent of the Internet using visual graphics.Opte originated from the Latin word Opti, meaning Optical...
, which is an Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
mapping project that seeks to make an accurate representation of the extent of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
using visual graphics. The project was started in October 2003 in an effort to provide a useful Internet map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
with open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
code. The project has gathered support worldwide and is part of the catalogs of the Boston Museum of Science and The Museum of Modern Art.
Prolexic
While working part time in college for a for a small network security company, Lyon worked on defending websites against Denial of Service attacks. He soon decided to start Prolexic TechnologiesProlexic Technologies
Prolexic Technologies is a privately held American information technology and services company headquartered in Hollywood, FL. Prolexic is the world’s largest provider of on-demand, cloud-based Distributed Denial of Service mitigation services...
to specifically focus on defending websites against such attacks. His initial customers were online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....
s which were facing extortionist threats from operators of Denial of Service attacks. After helping bring a Russian hacker to justice, Lyon's publicity allowed him to gain many new clients from outside of the gambling industry. He soon began giving talks about botnet
Botnet
A botnet is a collection of compromised computers connected to the Internet. Termed "bots," they are generally used for malicious purposes. When a computer becomes compromised, it becomes a part of a botnet...
s and DoS attacks at industry meetings. Lyon eventually left Prolexic to start BitGravity
Bitgravity
BitGravity is a Burlingame, CA, based content delivery network . The company was founded in 2006 and is notable because of its strategic partnership with Tata Communications which makes it one of the new breed of content delivery networks facilitating the telecommunication industries' push into the...
. Prolexic was later sold to IPVG, an internet company based in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
DoS Investigation
Lyon has been called a hero for his work tracking RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Denial of service attack extortion groups. His work has been featured around the globe and is featured in the cyber thriller Fatal System Error
Fatal System Error
Fatal System Error is a nonfiction work written by Joseph Menn that exposes a story of espionage that penetrates the network of international mobsters and hackers who use the Internet to extort money from businesses, steal from tens of millions of consumers, and attack government networks.Its main...
. He provided details and helped coordinate with multinational law enforcement groups which resulted in the capture of Ivan Maksakov
Ivan Maksakov
Ivan Maksakov was one of the three men behind the start of DDoS attacks for hire and extortion. Ivan was most famously known was "eXe", but he also used the nicknames: NASA, b-boy, X, x890, and x3m1st....
, Alexander Petrov
Alexander Petrov (hacker)
Alexander Petrov and two other men were responsible for DDoS for hire and extortion. A multinational law enforcement group of British, American, and Russian private individuals and law enforcement agents captured Alexander Petrov and his two accomplices - Ivan Maksakov and Denis Stepanov.The three...
, and Denis Stepanov
Denis Stepanov
Denis Stepanov was one of three men behind the start of DDoS attacks for hire and extortion. A multinational law enforcement group of British, American, and Russian private individuals and law enforcement agents captured Ivan Maksakov, Alexander Petrov, and Denis Stepanov.The three men were at the...
. The three men were at the heart of an extortion ring which was extorting money from banks, Internet casinos, and other web based businesses. Reported damages caused by Maksakov, Petrov, and Stenanov range in the tens of millions of dollars. On October 8, 2007, Maksakov, Petrov, Stenanov were found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison in the Russian Federation with a 100,000 ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
penalty.
Business interests
After leaving Prolexic, Lyon co-founded of BitGravityBitgravity
BitGravity is a Burlingame, CA, based content delivery network . The company was founded in 2006 and is notable because of its strategic partnership with Tata Communications which makes it one of the new breed of content delivery networks facilitating the telecommunication industries' push into the...
, a content delivery network
Content Delivery Network
A content delivery network or content distribution network is a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network....
and served as its chief technology officer. BitGravity focuses on providing content delivery for rich media
Media Richness Theory
Media richness theory, sometimes referred to as information richness theory, is a framework to describe a communications medium by its ability to reproduce the information sent over it. It was developed by Richard L. Daft and Robert H. Lengel. For example, a phone call will not be able to reproduce...
sources. While at BitGravity, to lessen billing confusion regarding the definition of a GigaByte
Gigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
, Lyon defined an accepted billing amount, coined as the BarretByte.
Lyon left BitGravity
Bitgravity
BitGravity is a Burlingame, CA, based content delivery network . The company was founded in 2006 and is notable because of its strategic partnership with Tata Communications which makes it one of the new breed of content delivery networks facilitating the telecommunication industries' push into the...
in June 2009 and with initial funding from Jay Adelson
Jay Adelson
Jay Adelson is an is an American Internet entrepreneur. His Internet career includes Netcom, DEC's Palo Alto Internet Exchange, co-founder of Equinix, Revision3 and Digg, and CEO of SimpleGeo, Inc before they were purchased by Urban Airship.In 2008, Adelson was named a member of Time Magazine's...
and Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk...
, he founded 3Crowd. 3Crowd'd first products provide businesses with greater control over existing Content Delivery Network
Content Delivery Network
A content delivery network or content distribution network is a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network....
s by allowing them to use CDN's based on factors like price and service.
See also
- Opte ProjectOpte ProjectThe Opte Project is a project started by Barrett Lyon that seeks to make an accurate representation of the extent of the Internet using visual graphics.Opte originated from the Latin word Opti, meaning Optical...
- BitGravityBitgravityBitGravity is a Burlingame, CA, based content delivery network . The company was founded in 2006 and is notable because of its strategic partnership with Tata Communications which makes it one of the new breed of content delivery networks facilitating the telecommunication industries' push into the...
- Fatal System ErrorFatal System ErrorFatal System Error is a nonfiction work written by Joseph Menn that exposes a story of espionage that penetrates the network of international mobsters and hackers who use the Internet to extort money from businesses, steal from tens of millions of consumers, and attack government networks.Its main...
- Prolexic
- Denial of service attack
- MoMAMomaMoma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
- Network mappingNetwork MappingNetwork mapping is the study of the physical connectivity of networks. Internet mapping is the study of the physical connectivity of the Internet. Network mapping often attempts to determine the servers and operating systems run on networks...
- 3Crowd