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Posted at Hackers defaced the Senate's Web page on Thursday before it was taken down. The FBI took down its own Web site after the bureau found that hackers tried unsuccessfully to compromise it. It was unclear when the FBI site might be made available again. ``There was an attempt (Wednesday) by unknown persons to unlawfully gain access to the FBI.Gov Web site,'' said an agency statement Thursday. ``It was unsuccessful; however, as a precaution, the FBI shut down the site and is now taking additional steps to further insulate it.'' An obscene message left briefly on the Senate's Web site blamed the attack on what it said was the FBI's harassment of specific hacker groups, including the group that boasted of breaking into the White House site earlier this month. ``Who laughs last?'' the message said in part, adding that the intent was to rebuke ``our friends at the FBI.'' Other federal Web sites, including those for the White House and the House of Representatives, appeared to be operating normally late Thursday. MSNBC reported that the attacks stemmed from the FBI's execution of a search warrant on a prominent hacker's home in Houston. FBI spokesman Rolando Moss confirmed that agents were investigating allegations of computer intrusions involving the Houston hacker. The FBI executed four search warrants that remained sealed, Moss said. Earlier this month, a grand jury in northern Virginia indicted Eric Burns, 19, on three counts of computer intrusion. Burns is reportedly known on the Internet as ``Zyklon'' and is believed to be a member of the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks on the White House and Senate sites. ``Zyklon'' was one of a dozen names listed on the hacked version of the White House Web site, which was altered overnight Sunday for a few minutes before government computers automatically detected the intrusion. Burns was accused of breaking into a computer used by the U.S. Information Agency between August 1998 and January 1999. The grand jury also said Burns broke into two other computers, one owned by LaserNet of Fairfax, Va., and the other by Issue Dynamics Inc. of Washington. Published Tuesday, Denouncing FBI, hackers hit 2 more federal Web sitesTED BRIDIS Hackers from different organizations defaced a Web page early Monday within the Interior Department and a site run by a federal supercomputer laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho, claiming that ``it's our turn to hit them where it hurts.'' ``These are the perils of open government,'' said Stephanie Hanna, an Interior spokeswoman. ``We try to make as much of the materials of the Interior Department as open and available as possible. The consequence of that is, those who choose to do damaging things can do that.'' Last week, hackers claiming to be from another group defaced the Web site for the U.S. Senate, causing it to be taken off line until the weekend. The FBI also was forced to take down its Internet site last week after hackers launched an electronic attack against it. It remained inaccessible Monday, along with the Web site for its National Infrastructure Protection Center, which helps to investigate computer crimes. Messages left at the attacked sites suggest that they were vandalized to retaliate against what was said to be the FBI's harassment of specific hacker groups, including the group that boasted of breaking into the White House site last month. The FBI confirmed that it executed four search warrants last week in Texas related to an investigation into allegations of computer intrusion, including one search at the home of a prominent hacker in Houston. On the Interior's Web page, the hackers left this message: ``Now, it's our turn to hit them where it hurts by going after every computer on the Net with a .gov [suffix]. . . . We'll keep hitting them until they get down on their knees and beg.'' At the site maintained by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, a note threatened the electronic destruction of the powerful computers that ``serve'' pages on the Internet ``if the FBI doesn't stop.'' ``We could have done worse, like destroying completely all servers,'' the note said. ``We can do it if we want, but hackers are waiting for Justice.'' In an on-line interview, the hacker claiming responsibility for the laboratory attack warned The Associated Press that further FBI investigation would result in more severe damage. The hacker identified himself only as M1crochip, living in Portugal and part of a group calling themselves F0rpaxe. The interview was arranged through a mutually trusted third party. ``If FBI doesn't do anything and doesn't stop arresting people and making our life miserable, each member of F0rPaxe will discuss an eventual destruction of every single server,'' he said. ``If that happens, everything goes down.'' He added, ``We don't want to proceed that way,'' and called the electronic attacks the ``only resource'' of the hacker community. The FBI in Washington declined to comment Monday. Earlier this month, a grand jury in northern Virginia indicted Eric Burns, 19, on three counts of computer intrusion. Burns reportedly is known on the Internet as ``Zyklon'' and is believed to be a member of the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks on the White House and Senate sites. ``Zyklon'' was one of a dozen names listed on the hacked version of the White House Web site, which was altered overnight Sunday for a few minutes before government computers automatically detected the intrusion. Burns was accused of breaking into a computer used by the U.S. Information Agency
between August 1998 and last January. The grand jury also said Burns broke into two other
computers, one owned by LaserNet of Fairfax, Va., and the other by Issue Dynamics of
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P R O T E C T I O N |
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Available for consulting in the USA and Internationally Contact Information Bruce M. Johnston, CISSP, CCSA 7725 Biltmore Blvd., Hollywood, FL., 33023-5825 [B] +1 954.967.4065 [M] +1 954.558.2083
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