, 2003-04-22
While attempts to disrupt Web broadcasts of Al-Jazeera may seem like a distant concern, they reflect the problems that should concern security professionals everywhere.
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Al-Jazeera, the First Amendment, and Security Professionals
, 2003-04-22 While attempts to disrupt Web broadcasts of Al-Jazeera may seem like a distant concern, they reflect the problems that should concern security professionals everywhere.
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The hosting companies I don't blame - between their own policies and the liability of having their pipes soaked by worthless packets, they did what they believed to be right to retain their own morals and operability, and as private companies, they are and should remain free to handle/keep/drop their clients any way they see fit. Just as everyone has the right to choose any (or create their own) provider as they themsevles see fit.
Sure - Al-Jazeera would've gathered a ton of attention for the first couple of weeks, mostly from the same impulse that draws rubbernecking commuters to stare at the still-steaming scene of a bloody three-car pileup. But otherwise it was just as harmless as any other website out there (and in many cases even less harmful.)
OTOH, I doubt it was a simple socio-politcal motivation, else a lot of racist and otherwise completely whacked-out "we hate the(insert minority or ethnicity or bedroom preferences or religious preferences here)'s!" websites would've been DDoS'ed/hacked/cracked to death eons ago.
OTOH, I strongly suspect that it's just a bunch of script kiddies looking for some kind of excuse for their games, just in case they get caught.
IMHO, a more relevant example of "hacktivism" would be the recent pop of Madonna's website... a digital middle-finger towards P2P users by Madonna (seeding P2P networks with a loop of her berating them for snitching her songs) reaped a digital middle-finger in return by the guy that broke into her website and stuffed it with pirated .mp3 files. It certainly doesn't excuse the act, but at least the motives for the hack are far clearer, and given the circumstance, at least appeared to have some motivation besides a lark by a pack of IRC junkies with ready-made 'hacks' against a (technologically) defenseless website.
/P
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/156/19571#19571