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REAThe REA auction is back up! When we went down, we thought it was a natural hardware issue. All mechanical systems (including cars, computers, etc) have the potential eventually to break down due to natural causes and require repair or replacement. While the hosting company was working on replacing the servers in the middle of the night, we were surprised to learn from the managing hosting service company responsible for our web site (and thousands of others) that this was not a natural occurrence. It was an intentional, malicious, sophisticated, and extremely deliberate criminal attack on our servers with the intention of destroying them. This is a 100% certainty. The emergency security team of the managing hosting company is taking this very seriously. All proper reports are being filed. They are also addressing the problem for us so that this will not happen again. If we understand what we have been told correctly, it may be that the hardware destroying event that we experienced was intended to occur at a slightly later date. Fortunately, this has been addressed now, at this early date. There will be no further statement about this matter at this time because this is a serious criminal issue, and one that is in the process of being investigated and pursued in every possible manner.
As a related aside, REA is always ready to make decisions instantly to deal with any unusual events or situations relating to the auction that might arise in what we think is the most reasonable and intelligent manner possible. If our computer system had been attacked and brought down on the closing day, or the day before, for example, we would have simply moved the closing date of the auction to a few days or a week later. Similarly, if there was a major catastrophic event like 9-11 that occurred on these days, we would also reschedule the final auction closing date. We are always able to respond at a moment’s notice to any event that should occur in what we think is the most reasonable and intelligent manner possible to ensure the integrity and success of the auction.
We put the auction up early this year, so we will actually be up and taking bids for a much longer period of time in 2008 than ever before. We’re sorry that we were down for a day and we appreciate your understanding!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Robert Lifson
President
Robert Edward Auctions, LLC
www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com