Friday 22 June 2012

Hackers or hacktivists

Intruding into a website or network by finding loopholes in the security system of the targeted computer or network without authority is called hacking.



Hacking is grabbing headlines in India these days. Anonymous India—a group of hackers  from across the country and abroad— have threatened the Indian government that they will continue attacking government and corporate websites until the government promises censorship-free Internet. They have a message for the government on their site:


               “We are Anonymous.
                 We do not forgive the denial of basic human rights.
                 We do not forget those who assist the oppressed. 
                 To the tyrannical government of India ... Expect us.”


Their website also says: “The Department of Telecom has ordered all internet service providers to block all-file sharing websites, it's time for you to stand up and show that the corrupt government cannot stop you!”


A day before their call for an all-India protest ‘Occupy India’ on June 9 they attacked the corporate website of MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Exchange Limited) and said they attacked on it because the exchange was censoring content over the Internet.


There have been several instances in the past too when the group intruded into the websites of the Indian National Congress (INA), the Supreme Court of India, Delhi Government, Ministry of External Affairs, and BIG Cinema. Their next targets are Reliance and Airtel websites. The group has asked for public opinion and support on their Facebok page.


It is happening not only in India but the world over. The group claimed of  to have brought down the website of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. A Russian hacker leaked the passwords of over 6 million users of LinkedIn—a professional networking site—and posted them on a website.


It was a major threat for the users who share the same password across several accounts. Some other hackers managed to breach some of the top secret computer systems within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the United Kingdom. A few hackers have even claimed breaking into the hotmail account of US presidential candidate Mitt Romney. It is for Internet users to wait and watch what will be the next move of the government and Anonymous India.

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