WASHINGTON, 30 September — Following the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on American targets, American-based Internet hackers have attacked websites connected to anything perceived as Arab or Muslim.
The severity of these attacks is so alarming that the FBI has warned system administrators everywhere to tighten up security.
Hackers succeeded in attacking the Arab News web page, which only returned online, fully-enabled, on Thursday.
The hackers, who call themselves, “The Dispatchers,” describe themselves as a group of computer security enthusiasts “who are outraged at the acts of terrorism... which are taking place in this day in age. It is our cause to fight back in every which way we can.”
Another group, which has defaced several Muslim nations’ websites, is a breakaway from “World Of Hell,” an exclusive hacking group known for their ability to open top-level domains.
According to computer experts, the official website of the Presidential Palace of Afghanistan was taken offline after computer attackers sent so many requests for information that the site crashed.
The FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) has warned there could be opportunities for significant collateral damage to any computer network and telecommunication infrastructure that does not have current countermeasures in place.
“The Dispatchers claim to have over 1,000 machines under their control for attacks,” said NIPC in a statement. “It is likely that the attackers will mask their operations by using IP (Internet provider) addresses and pirated systems of uninvolved third parties.”
NIPC also warned that in addition to politically motivated hacking, emailed documents are being circulated that pretend to contain information of US attacks but which are actually viruses.
A virus the FBI recently identified is a renamed version of life_stages.txt.shs. NIPC said it was renamed wtc.txt.vbs so it would appear to be related to the World Trade Center.