News International faces threats over hacked emails
News International faces threats from hackers that they will publish emails taken from servers at The Sun and The News of the World during a cyber attack last night.
The threats came after a breach of the embattled newspaper group’s computer network by LulzSec, a hacking group previously known for its attacks on the CIA and SOCA websites, among others.
Sabu, a pseudonymous hacker linked to LulzSec and Anonymous, an allied and more overtly political “hacktivist” group, said on his Twitter account that The Sun and The News of the World had been “owned”.
In hacker jargon “owned” means attackers have full control over target systems.
“We're sitting on their emails,” Sabu said. “Press release tomorrow [Tuesday].”
LulzSec supporters also tweeted a series of email addresses and mobile phone numbers apparently taken from News International servers and encouraged others to call them. The data included an email address and password at The Sun for Rebekah Wade (now Brooks), who resigned as News International chief executive on Friday.
Indeed, much of the information published appeared to be out of date. It included contact details at The Sun for Pete Picton, a former online editor who last year went to work for Mr Murdoch’s iPad-only publication, The Daily, in New York.
Another individual whose details were exposed by LulzSec supporters, Chris Hampartsoumian , an IT worker, responded on Twitter that “I don't work for The Sun or News International or any News Corp company”.
“Thank you for all the kind phone calls and messages,” he said sarcastically.
Claims that LulzSec had accessed News International emails emerged after the group attacked The Sun’s website. It used its control of servers to redirect visitors to the home page to a spoof news story that claimed Rupert Murdoch had taken a fatal dose of palladium “before stumbling into his famous topiary garden late last night”.
Details of how the security breach occurred the were sketchy this morning, and a News International spokesman declined to provide details, but a picture was beginning to emerge.
Visitors to The Sun websites were redirected using a line of Javascript, a type of software code often used on websites, inserted into its “breaking news” ticker.
The spoof news story was meanwhile posted on www.new-times.co.uk, a defunct website. It appeared to use a page from The Sun’s genuine website as a template, with material dating from 14 July, prompting speculation LulzSec may have first breached the network last week.
As news of the attack spread overnight, it appears News International’s IT staff shut down its websites, including that of The Times. At about midnight LulzSec said it was battling with The Sun website’s administrators, and briefly redirected visitors again, this time to its Twitter account.
Both The Sun and The Times websites were back online this morning. A spokesman said the firm was aware of the attack on its network and declined to comment further.
At the end of June, after a high-profile spree of cyber attacks and arrests, LulzSec claimed it would disband. But last night the group’s spokesman, thought to be a hacker who goes by the name Topiary, said: “I know we quit, but we couldn't sit by with our wine watching this walnut-faced Murdoch clowning around.”
Tuesday 19 July 2011
News International faces threats over hacked emails - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
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