Malaysian Internet sites hacked

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500214561-500303435-501679958-0,00.html

By SEAN YOONG, Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (June 11, 2000 8:37 a.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Hackers have broken into dozens of
Malaysian political Web sites, leaving government officials and
opposition leaders angry Sunday over images of rotting skulls and
obscene messages.

One vandal, calling himself "Xenophoria," attacked 21 pro-government
Web sites, posting a list of demands for greater press freedom and an
end to corruption.

"Stop government intervention in media. Justice for all," the hacker
wrote.

Cyberspace has been a fierce battleground for Malaysian politics in
the past year, with more than 100 anonymously run Web sites fueling
debate over the country's leadership and laws.

Opposition leaders rely heavily on the Internet to drum up support,
because they say the tightly controlled mainstream press is biased.

The government, however, often plays down the Internet's potential
impact on voters in Malaysia, where many of the country's 22 million
people live in rural areas with limited Internet access.

Both sides have so far condemned the hacking, which apparently began
Friday, and vowed to expose the culprits.

"We don't condone such foolish conduct," said Tian Chua, vice
president of the opposition National Justice Party. "These are
unreasonable acts of cowardice that benefit neither the government nor
the opposition."

A popular opposition Web site called "Laman Reformasi," or
"Reformation Site," was reported to have been attacked first.

The vandal, who identified himself as "Junior Hacker," posted several
obscene pictures on the Web site, in an apparent reference to jailed
politician Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial for sodomy.

Opposition loyalists retaliated by penetrating their rivals' Web sites
and branding supporters of the government as "fanatics."

Politics online surged shortly after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
fired Anwar as his deputy in September 1998, calling him an immoral
homosexual.

Anwar was subsequently sentenced to six years in jail for corruption
and faces another twenty years if convicted of sodomy. He claims
Mahathir orchestrated a conspiracy to oust him.


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