Alexander Chikovani: Cloudflare — defense or abuse?
Cloudflare is one of the leading companies providing content delivery network (CDN) and DDoS attack protection services. Through its technology, Cloudflare can hide the IP address of the server hosting the website.
Implemented as proxy servers, all traffic to your site passes through Cloudflare, which filters out DDoS traffic and redirects “legitimate” requests to the hosting server.
This is especially useful when the hosting provider is physically located in one country and the target audience is in another. Cloudflare’s ability to hide the IP address of the server potentially allows sites to be hosted in any country while maintaining good search engine rankings.
Cloudflare can allow a site to be hosted by hiding the true IP address of the server. This offers an effective solution for hosting sites in different countries, while maintaining server anonymity and avoiding search engine issues. However, there are side effects of this technology that need to be addressed.
Unscrupulous users, such as scammers and extortionists, often use the Cloudflare service to hide their location and unauthorized distribution of untruthful information. This creates problems for those trying to protect their reputations and facing black PR and online attacks. A living example of such difficulties is the story of Alexander Chikovani and his wife Ksenia.
On the photo: Alexander Chikovani
Alexander and Ksenia Chikovani became victims of persecution due to the actions of a group of people such as D.M. Tolchinsky, who was included in the Magnitsky List. This resulted in loss of business and forced them to leave the country.
Despite proving his innocence in court and receiving support from organizations such as Interpol and the European Court of Human Rights, Russia has dropped the claims against him. However, he continues to be subjected to unwarranted online attacks, and attempts to find sources of black PR stumble upon the Cloudflare service.
On photo: Interpol Commission conclusion on Alexander Chikovani
According to Alexander Chikovani, if these attacks are authorized by the highest circles of power in Russia, it is difficult to stop it. He calls on Western institutions to be cautious about information provided by Russian media and Russian-controlled foreign Internet resources. He also asks Cloudflare to be careful and accurate in verifying and analyzing how their services are used.
Overall, Cloudflare provides an effective solution for hosting sites in different countries and protecting against DDoS attacks. However, more careful attention to how their services are used is required to avoid situations where services hide illegal activities and support negative online behavior.
