I can't understand why they would hate us

[Anonymous]

Al-Jazeera Web site faces continued hacker attacks
Reuters, 03.27.03, 11:50 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hacker attacks continued to plague the Web site of Arab satellite TV network al-Jazeera on Thursday, as cyber-vandals replaced the news site with a stars-and-stripes logo saying "Let Freedom Ring".

Both the Arabic site, at (http://www.aljazeera.net), and the English-language version at (http://english.aljazeera.net) could not be accessed Thursday. Users who tried to log onto the site found a message that read, "Hacked by Patriot, Freedom Cyber Force Militia" beneath a logo containing the U.S. flag.

"This broadcast was brought to you by: Freedom Cyber Force Militia," the site said. "God bless our troops!!!"

Al-Jazeera information technology manager Salah Al Seddiqui said someone had hijacked the domain name and redirected it to another server computer.

"Our Web site is working but nobody can see it," Al Seddiqui said.

The al-Jazeera Web site has faced near-constant cyber attacks since an English-language version devoted exclusively to the war in Iraq was launched Monday.

Hackers have blitzed the site with meaningless data in an effort to squeeze out legitimate traffic and render the site inaccessible, a technique known as a "denial of service" attack.

That attack eased at around 3 a.m. London time on Thursday, Al Seddiqui said, but the domain name was hijacked shortly after.

The Qatar-based network had tried to switch the address back but was denied access by domain-name seller Network Solutions Inc. ,he said.

"We can't say it's their fault or our fault," he said.

A Network Solutions spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The company also HAS had to search for a new home for the site after U.S.-based DataPipe said it could no longer host the site from the end of the month. Al Seddiqui said the company had moved its servers to a data center in France.

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

[FS]

Good lord. Hackers with a goal. What happened to the days when all they cared about was putting "LOL PWNED" on the website of the White House?

[Anonymous]

"Hacked by Patriot, Freedom Cyber Force Militia"


Man. Now THOSE guy are doing something!

[The_Rorschach]

More than any of us are doing, with the exception of McClain.

[FS]

They should decorate the site with those flashy, trashy 9/11 photoshops full of eagles, US flags, soldiers, jetplanes and cryptic taglines like "THE TIME IS NOW".

[Anonymous]

yes. sabotaging the most independent news in the arab world is extremely helpful to the fight for freedom.

[The_Rorschach]

"yes. sabotaging the most independent news in the arab world is extremely helpful to the fight for freedom."

More than you are fighting.

To FS:

I think those would be technically fighting words, and not covered under the definition of First Ammendment Free Speech. . .We are trying to set an example aren't we?

[FS]

It's more than we're doing, true, but I wouldn't exactly call it time well spent. It's kind of in the realm of making Flash clips about Saddam or Osama getting violently killed, and I consider that kind of petty (though I must admit I've done it myself, just after I'd gotten Flash).

The whole business with Al-Jazeera got me thinking about double standards. I mean, I honestly don't want to piss anyone off about this, but especially over the past few years, I see dead people in warzones on the news all the time. Hell, I can't count the amount of times I've seen the footage of dead Iraqis from the last time Saddam gassed his own people on TV over the past weeks. If that's allowed, why is it such a shock when American or British bodies are showed - by a non-US or British channel?

However, I'd like to state that I don't mean it should be allowed - in fact, I'd prefer eitherway that dead bodies may not be shown on the news. It has nothing to do with finding it too gruesome, I just find it disrespectful. Always.

[Anonymous]

what they did is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE to freedom

[El Blanco]

That attack eased at around 3 a.m. London time on Thursday

This is why you make sure you keep the Jolt supply steady.

yes. sabotaging the most independent news in the arab world is extremely helpful to the fight for freedom.

Hooooo, buy. Ever actually see and Al Jazeera news cast?

[The_Rorschach]

"what they did is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE to freedom"

By what? Shutting down the web site which eagerly showed footage of our defiled, honoured dead? I don't think I'll be reading posts by you any more.

They, like many, love what their country stands for and feel compelled to defend what is still redeemable. However, caught between that love of coutry is a love for themselves. An inability to acknowledge authority, or give up their fat, safe, sheltered lives. Maybe they don't want to spend the time.

Regardless, while their actions are misguided, the spirit in which they were concieved in honourable. They refused to sit at home, accept the easy way out, and simply watch other people die for their war. They got involved, and within the limitations of their life, struck out to show our enemies across the sea we will not go silently into the night. That this war was not the dream of one maniacle leader.

And while you sit, and quibble, and condemn, they act. Even if their actions are questionable, they are putting their money where there mouth is. I say horrah hacker! They have more courage than many of those who post here, damn me, more than I do.

[AChimp]

Uh huh. You are a fool.

I guess, according to you, the average American is doing nothing to contribute to the war effort, except, um... maybe spending money to keep the economy moving?

Far more productive than defacing a website that no one cares about.

[ItalianStereotype]

every little bit counts chimp. you constantly joke about how americans are so shocked at the tactics utilized by the iraqis. well, its obvious that they are doing everything that they can, but somehow you think it cant go both ways?

[AChimp]

Please, enlighten me as to how defacing a website will help the U.S. win this war.

Maybe hearing reports about the l33tness of U.S. haX0rs will inspire your soldiers. I can picture it now... a tank battalion racing across the desert with Marines screaming "All your base are belong to us!" as they pass bombed out buildings and remnants of Russian equipment.

The war effort would be served far better if the hackers got off their fat asses, left their parents' basements and got real jobs. All they have succeeded in doing is taking a few thousand dollars in revenue each month away from an American tech company.

[The_Rorschach]

DataPipe doesn't host the site any more Chimp, as of the end of last month, so no US based corp is losing money on this.

[ItalianStereotype]

its all about morale and such, silly monkey.

the condition of the economy wont help the war effort, at least not anything we do now. the military will receive the same funding that it always does and public opinion will remain divided. whatever we do now to help our economy probably wont be felt for months anyways....

[Anonymous]

By what? Shutting down the web site which eagerly showed footage of our defiled, honoured dead?

It is a part of their news culture in that part of the world to show dead and injured people in the war. We over here don't like to see that sort of thing, but over there they are used to it. They even show footage of little children over there that are mangled. That is part of how they cover war.
Al-Jazeera did not shoot that video - it was shot by Iraqi tv. They decided to air it. And more so, supposedly, after it had already been aired, we contacted them and asked them not to show it anymore until the families had been notified and they agreed.

Al-Jazzera is extremely popular over in that part of the world, and they do conduct interviews with officials in our own government. And our government grants them these interviews because they know what a powerful voice they are, and how they are a good way for us to reach the people over there and get a chance to tell "our side of things". The are not state run, and are considered a very independent voice over there, and they are considered a thorn to the 'opressive' Arab governments. So as I see it, they should be encouraged and not discouraged.

They got involved, and within the limitations of their life, struck out to show our enemies across the sea we will not go silently into the night.

They did not launch their attack on Iraqi government Tv.
I do not consider the "Arab world" my enemy.

I don't think I'll be reading posts by you any more.

Ok, dont.

[AChimp]

DataPipe doesn't host the site any more Chimp, as of the end of last month, so no US based corp is losing money on this.

*cough!*

The article says "end of THE month", implying the end of THIS month, since the article was written a few days ago. Chances are, DataPipe's network can't handle these kinds of attacks (especially a DoS attack that lasts a few days), and was having service interupted for all the other customers.

So, the hackers weren't only affecting Al Jazeera's site, but every other site hosted by DataPipe. How courteous.

But then again, how dare DataPipe host that dirty Arab news to begin with!

whatever we do now to help our economy probably wont be felt for months anyways....

Every little bit helps. :P

[Protoclown]

I have to agree with Doopa on this one. Hacking their website is kind of like shooting ourselves in the foot. It's the closest we're going to come to having a "friend" in the Middle Eastern media, and we're going out of our way to piss them off.