Escalation in Politically Motivated Hacking
press release
press release
&
faq
London, UK - 8th January 2002, 1400 GMT - The latest figures compiled
by the mi2g Intelligence Unit have shown that politically motivated hacking
has increased in 2001. The principal reasons cited for the overt hacking attacks
include intellectual challenge, disgruntled personnel, political motivation
(including ideological differences) and criminal activity.
Global Hot Spots
The China-Taiwan standoffs and the US-China spy plane incident in 2001 made
the .cn China domain and .tw Taiwan domain, two of the most defaced domains
after .com and together they accounted for just under 9% (2,653) of total
defacements for 2001. The domain .tw rose by 1,178% to 1,355 from 106 and
the .cn domain rose similarly by 1,326% to 1,298 from 91.
The number of Israeli domain (.il) defacements rose by 220% to 413 in 2001.
As the Palestinian Intifada continued many hack attacks on the Israeli domain
came from sympathetic hackers including attacks originating from predominantly
Islamic countries such as Egypt and Pakistan.
The number of web site defacements of Indian domains (.in) rose by 205%
to 250 and 300% for Pakistan (.pk) to 72 in 2001.
UK
The UK Government domain .gov.uk experienced a 378% increase in web site
defacements to 43 from 9 in 2000. The UK organisations domain .org.uk rose
to 25 from 5 and the UK commercial domain .co.uk increased by 181% to 385
from 137. Many UK companies use the global .com domain and those statistics
are not specific to geography. Anti-capitalist protest, criminal activities
and anti-NATO sentiment were principally behind the attacks.
USA
Dotcom (.com) domains accounted for nearly 30% (8,736) of all web defacements
(30,388) in 2001. They include both US and non-geography specific global entities.
The US government domain .gov experienced a 37% increase in web site defacements
to 248 from 181 in 2000. The US military domain .mil experienced a 128% increase
in web site defacements.
“Global web site defacement is indicative of
the general conflicts prevalent in the physical world. 2002 may be a year
in which politically motivated attacks, both physical and electronic, could
complement strikes from disgruntled employees and organised crime,” said
DK Matai, Chairman and CEO, mi2g.
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Notes to Editors
More statistics can be obtained from www.mi2g.com/status
About mi2g:
mi2g Digital Solutions Engineering pays particular regard to security.
mi2g advises on the management of eRisk and incorporates Bespoke Security
Architecture in its SMART sourcing solutions. mi2g builds highly secure
intranets and extranets, digital communities and data warehouses that are
specifically constructed for data mining, customer relationship management
and enhancing the network effect.
For further information - www.mi2g.com
What is Bespoke Security Architecture?
Bespoke Security Architecture brings together firewall layers, intrusion
detection and other defensive structures, as well as automated intelligence
techniques with legal, human resource and company policies.
What is eRisk Management?
eRisk Management deals with a variety of issues associated with implementing
digital solutions and integrating Service Level Management. It includes selecting
the optimum technology set, managing external partners and alliances, linking
payments to targets, defining rigorous quality control procedures, managing
the growth in online traffic post launch, achieving the expected return on
investment, and bringing about the changes in the corporate culture required
for successful eBusiness.
What is SMART Sourcing?
mi2g SMART Sourcing is the careful selection of cost effective and
trustworthy suppliers from around the world for building and maintaining highly
secure digital platforms on a 24 by 7 basis.
For additional information please contact - Intelligence
Unit, mi2g
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7924 3010 - Facsimile: +44 (0) 20
7924 3310 - eMail: Intelligence
Unit
