From The May 2003 issue of PC World magazine:

War on the Net

Web site defacements reported.

While the war in Iraq “is escalating, Web site defacements related to the conflict were on the rise, according to two recent reports, one from the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) - a Department of State group that polices American security interests abroad and one from Finnish security company F-Secure. Military, government, and business sites have been attacked by Islamic extremists, peace activists, and U.S.-based patriotic hackers, says F-Secure. The defacements, executed by hacking security holes, range from antiwar slogans and pictures to manifestos in Arabic.

According to the OSAC report, the military campaign against Iraq triggered a wave of digital attacks. “These digital attacks. Are causing business disruptions through online vandalism of commerce portals and computers belonging to businesses,” says the OSAC. Government and military systems are also being targeted but in smaller numbers. Many of the defacements have antiwar messages, but some have direct anti-US. or anti-Iraq slogans.”

That statement aligns with information from F-Secure, which reports that British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Web site, among others, was hit with a DDos (distributed denial-of-service) attack on March 24.

“The number of hacked sites has been constantly increasing,” says F-Secure. The company’s Web site shows screen shots of site defacements, including; one at http://www.whitehouse.gov, which was restored almost immediately, but war-related hostilities have clearly taken to the Internet.

--Sebastian Rupley