Internet Vandal Intrudes OPEC Web Site

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGI0484K2DC.html

Sep 13, 2000 - 01:27 AM

NEW YORK (AP) - OPEC's Web site was defaced by an online vandal
apparently upset about the worldwide attention being paid to the
organization over soaring oil prices.

The graffiti-like attack appeared Tuesday night at the bottom of the
opening screen of www.opec.org. After several seconds, visitors were
taken to the main menu.

The message urged OPEC members to get "in gear with the price of
crude, we really need to focus on the poverty-stricken countries, who
don't even have enough money for aspirin, let alone exorbitant (sic)
prices for heating oil ... ."

Someone calling themselves "fluxnyne" apparently takes credit for
writing the statement.

Hours after the defacement was first reported, the Web site became
inaccessible. OPEC could not immediately be reached for comment.

OPEC has been under worldwide scrutiny recently as the price of crude
oil hovers near 10-year highs. Last weekend, oil producing nations
said they would increase daily production by 800,000 barrels in an
effort to bring down prices.

On Tuesday, OPEC President Ali Rodriguez warned that the world is
facing a possible energy crisis similar to that of the 1970s when high
oil prices hurt demand and fueled inflation.

The written statement disparaging the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries is different from a "hack" in that it is neither
technologically difficult to perform nor particularly harmful to a Web
site.


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