The Command Post - Iraq - Hackers Not Happy With al-Jazeera

March 27, 2003

Hackers Not Happy With al-Jazeera

Hackers Replace Al-Jazeera Web Site With American Flag:

Hackers on Thursday replaced the English-language Web site for Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera with a U.S. flag and the message "Let Freedom Ring." Hours later, the site was hacked again by others.

Hackers calling themselves the "Freedom Cyber Force Militia" earlier hijacked Internet traffic destined for Al-Jazeera's Web site and redirected it to a different Web page on computers operated by Networld Connections Inc., an Internet provider in Salt Lake City. That site was shut down hours later.

The likely hacking technique, called "DNS poisoning," fools traffic-directing computers across the Internet, similar to vandalizing exit signs on an interstate to misdirect travelers. It is relatively difficult to defend against.

Internet records show the Web directories sending traffic to Al-Jazeera's site were changed early Thursday, apparently without authorization.

Cross-posted on The Mind Of Man.

Posted By Robert Prather (The Mind Of Man) at March 27, 2003 04:53 PM | TrackBack

Comments

I hope these idiots know that this just makes Americans look bad.

Posted by: Dean Esmay at March 27, 2003 04:59 PM

That's pretty stinking funny. HEHEHE

Posted by: Andrew at March 27, 2003 05:02 PM

Actually, Dean, hacking the official voice of jihad demonstrates, yet again, that technology is incompatible with islamo-fascism. It's fun and formative.

Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) at March 27, 2003 05:06 PM

Dean, it might inflame the Arab Street™?
If I hear that canard one more time I'll puke....they are eternally inflamed and there's nothing we can do about it til they drag their sorry asses into at least the 16th century

Posted by: Frank G at March 27, 2003 05:15 PM

The heck with the "street", I want to see some of the stuff (other than dead bodies) they have. Has noone noticed that scenes of explosions in Baghdad are from Al Jazeera?

They have a habit of showing video un-edited. Part of this is because they are privately-owned, and have perhaps the budget of a small station here. But they show feeds from the US un-edited as well, and have often gotten in some trouble for criticizing various governments (including Qatar's) in the region.

Posted by: John Anderson at March 27, 2003 05:30 PM

Believe it or not, al-Jazeera banned in Saudi Arabia as being too Western (!).

Posted by: Asparagirl at March 27, 2003 05:43 PM

Sorry, but it's all Al-Jazeera's fault. If they can't secure their servers properly and hire somebody that knows what they are doing, it's their bad.

All public sites can succum to hacking, specially high profile ones. The real solution here is not to tell people "It makes the US look bad", but for Al-Jazeera to hire the right people to secure their servers.

And yes, it's very funny. Couldn't happer to a nicer "news" organization.

Posted by: ElCapitanAmerica at March 27, 2003 05:51 PM

Now to be really funny, it would of had to been redirected to a Danish porn site.
Then they could all be pissed at Amsterdam. That surely would have inflamed the "street".

Posted by: Genghis at March 27, 2003 06:13 PM

Genghis, you've got the Danes and the Dutch mixed up. Amsterdam is in the Netherlands.

Damned ignorant Americans.

Posted by: shoeboy at March 27, 2003 06:27 PM

Danes...Dutch..Scandahoovians ...who cares as long as they have D cups!
It was after all an attempt at humor.
It certainly is not true Americans are ignorant...most of us know the best porn sites

Posted by: Genghis at March 27, 2003 06:40 PM