I haven't read anywhere that they failed. Isn't the timeline:
- Akamai mitigates attack just fine
- After the attack is over, Akamai does the cost/benefit analysis and decides to stop providing the free service.
- Akamai mitigates attack just fine
- After the attack is over, Akamai does the cost/benefit analysis and decides to stop providing the free service.
The attack showed no signs of waning as the day wore on. Some indications suggest it may have grown stronger. At 4 pm, Akamai gave Krebs two hours' notice that it would no longer assume the considerable cost of defending KrebsOnSecurity.
http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/09/why-the-silencing-of...