Bits and Bytes

A distinctly conflict oriented flavor today: Inside Anonymous' Cyber War Against the Israeli Government.  "The shadowy hacker collective known as Anonymous has announced it will launch a round of cyber-attacks this Friday against the Israeli government, in retaliation for Israel's ongoing military intervention in Gaza. This onslaught would add to a wave of cyber assaults staged in recent weeks by hackers largely from the Middle East, Asia, and South America, who are supporting "OpSaveGaza," an Anonymous-backed campaign targeting Israeli government websites that has succeeded in temporarily taking down the sites of the Israeli defense ministry and the Tel Aviv police department." Iraq Conflict Breeds Cyber Civil War.  "A cyber-civil war is being waged alongside the armed conflict in Iraq, research by security firms suggests. As well as using social media to rally supporters and spread propaganda, some factions are employing hackers to gather intelligence. Well-known attack programs have been re-purposed in a bid to to subvert routers and other systems inside Iraq. More broadly, cyber-thieves are also using the conflict to help trick people into opening booby-trapped messages." 9/11 Commission Warns of Cyber Attack Threat.  "The authors also describe the threat of a cyberattack as a significant concern, likening it to the threat of terrorism before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They describe the 'cyber domain as the battlefield of the future' and say the country needs to take further steps to prevent the cyber equivalent of 9/11. 'We must not repeat that mistake in the cyber realm,' wrote the authors, including Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton, who together chaired the 9/11 Commission."

WSJ News Pages Hacked.  "Computer systems containing the Wall Street Journal's news graphics were hacked by outside parties, according to the paper's publisher Dow Jones & Co.  The systems have been taken offline to prevent the spread of attacks, but Journal officials have not found any damage to the graphics, the newspaper said citing people at the Wall Street Journal familiar with the matter.  A hacker who goes by the Twitter handle of w0rm allegedly posted tweets and screenshots claiming to have hacked the Journal's website and offered to sell user information and credentials needed to control the server."

Just another average Wednesday in cyberspace, I guess.