Silicon.com: Hackers hit UK government websites

[Owen Blacker]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

> HEADLINE: Hackers hit UK government websites
> PUBLISHED: 2:50pm on Wednesday 21st March 2001
> CHANNEL: Ebusiness security
> AUTHOR: Ben King
> SERVICE: http://www.silicon.com
> 
> TEXT OF STORY FOLLOWS:
> 
> Hackers have defaced several top government websites, leaving 
> the new e-envoy with egg on his face.
> 
> Govtalk.gov.uk, the site for intergovernmental communication 
> run by the e-envoy's office, was a prime target for the 
> hackers, who posted their own graphic on the site with the 
> words "Owned by PoizonBOx".
> 
> The group has also targeted the nas.gov.uk site, an archive 
> service for Scotland. Local government sites, including 
> Havant.gov.uk, Walsall.gov.uk, and Wiltshire.gov.uk have also 
> been hit. The attacks happened late last night and this morning.
> 
> The PoisonBOx hacker group specialise in targeting government 
> websites, according to German hackwatch site alldas.de. They 
> have previously targeted such online properties in Australia, 
> Ecuador, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the Ukraine and the
> US.   
> 
> A spokesperson for the cabinet office said: "We're waiting 
> for a report from the service providers." A full statement is 
> due later today. 
> 
> She did confirm, however, that the site conformed to the 
> Communications-Electronic Security Group standards at the 
> time of its launch. 
> 
> 
> At the time of writing all the affected local government 
> sites had been restored, but the govtalk site was still 
> offline -- the cabinet office promises to have it back up 
> this afternoon. 
> 
> The nas.gov.uk was still proudly displaying the hackers' logo 
> at 14:00 (GMT) this afternoon.
> 
> David Johnson, head of information systems at Walsall 
> Metropolitan Borough Council, said that they had managed to 
> restore the site minutes after the attack happened. 
> 
> He confirmed they were using Microsoft's Internet Information 
> Server, and that they had changed all the passwords, but that 
> they were unlikely to make major security changes to the site.
> 
> "It depends on the hassle factor, and the cost," he said. "As 
> you know, local government isn't exactly flush with cash."
> 
> For related news, see:
> Hackers expose flaw in aging IBM ecommerce software
> http://www.silicon.com/a43191 
> 'Stupid' administrators left Davos open to hack attack
> http://www.silicon.com/a43056 
> World Economic Forum system hit by hackers
> http://www.silicon.com/a42470 
> Hackers wreak havoc on Microsoft's 'flawed' network
> http://www.silicon.com/a42315 
> 
> 
> STORY ENDS
> 
> For more information on silicon.com go to http://www.silicon.com.
> 
> silicon.com - the who, what, when, where and why of ebusiness

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP 7.0
Comment: Due to RIP, pls check for revocation before using this key!

iQA/AwUBOrnRKVVeQSYAA2h0EQLp6gCgoC3xPA+6jaIkIvo2Q+cHI/ry5RQAn0d0
iARDjLs7xmHihmeZNCOD5kjd
=fQ/g
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

_____________________________________________________________________
This message has been checked for all known viruses by UUNET delivered 
through the MessageLabs Virus Control Centre. For further information visit
http://www.uk.uu.net/products/security/virus/