Hackers Attack the Government
Web sites of two federal agencies were defaced last weekend, with pro-China messages left behind.
Sam Costello, IDG News Service
Hackers got their hands on two U.S. government Web sites last weekend, with at least one of the hackers posting a photo of Chinese pilot Wang Wei, who was killed when his plane collided with a U.S. spy plane in early April.
Web sites belonging to the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services were defaced Saturday, though both sites were back to normal operations shortly thereafter.
Two Health and Human Services Web sites, Health.gov and Surgeongeneral.gov, were attacked. Health.gov was defaced to include the photo of Wang Wei, and the Surgeon General's site crashed outright, says Bill Hall, HHS spokesperson.
Though Hall declined to speculate on the motives or the individuals responsible for the hacks, he did say that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the matter and that neither site lost any data.
The Department of Labor's site was hacked by a seemingly pro-China group. A message left on the site, signed by the "Honker Union of China," said that the group "Maintains the reunification of the motherland! Guards the national sovereignty! Outside consistent resistance shame! Attack anti-Chinese arrogance!" Though the Department of Labor did not return repeated calls requesting comment, the Associated Press reported the details of the defacement and Attrition.org is hosting a mirror of the hacked site.
The defacements come only a few days after the U.S. National Infrastructure Protection Center issued a warning to U.S. government agencies and businesses saying that Chinese hackers might undertake a campaign of hacking in response to the death of Wang Wei.
According to the NIPC, the hacks might take place between April 30 and May 7, thus including May Day (May 1), Youth Day (May 4), and the anniversary of the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (May 7).
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
Go Wireless on Printing
- Great year-end deals

for small business! -
Get 24/7 live remote AT&T Tech Support 360* service along with select Lenovo* PCs (with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors) and save up to 200!
-
HP EliteBook* 6930p Notebook with Intel® vPro™ technology and a free HP Basic Docking Station - $641 instant savings!
- *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. ©2009 Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, vPro and Core trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.
People who read this also read:
Best Prices on Desktops
Pavilion p6240f Mini-Tower DesktopPrice: $689.00
Edge Z30 Midsize Desktop - CustomizablePrice: $1099.00
Compaq Presario CQ5210F Mini-Tower DesktopPrice: $419.97
iMac All-In-One Desktop - CustomizablePrice: $1149.00
Pavilion Slimline s5160f Mini-Tower DesktopPrice: $649.97
Inspiron Zino HD Desktop Computer (AMD Athlon 2650E 250GB/3GB)Price: $229.00
- 15 Minutes to a Secure Business Get the Secure in 15 toolkit starting with the "15 Minutes Month-at-a-Glance" calendar. McAfee will send you additional tools and tricks to stay protected around the clock.
- A Buyer's Guide to Data Protection Implementing data protection products and processes can be daunting. Make the right decisions by exploring what is available and what makes sense for your organization. Use this simple guide to evaluate different vendor offerings.
Cameras
Camcorders
Cell Phones
Components
Desktops
HDTV
Home Theater
GPS
Laptops
Monitors
MP3 Players
Networking &
Printers
Storage




