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Cyberwar on NASA Websites 737

Posted by CmdrTaco from the politics-and-cybercrime dept.
Vexorian writes "Two NASA websites were hacked today by a group of Chilean activist hackers. The reason was to protest against the war on Lebanon. The mirror of the defaced site contains an image of an injured child and claims that the sites were running MacOSX."
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Cyberwar on NASA Websites More

Cyberwar on NASA Websites

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  • I, for one, welcome our new Chilean activist overlords.

    • Re:I, for one... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by acoster ( 812556 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `retsoca'> on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:36AM (#15811322)
      Right... and defacing a NASA website for sure is a good way to "do some good".

      Although some say that only active protesting works, I'm sure they didn't mean to sit on your chair and "h4x0r" some sites. Actually it's pretty sad to see one defacing websites in name of "peace and justice". It also concerns when someone say thats hacktivism, as it can create a bad impression about legit hacktivism activities (such as providing privacy for people in China, etc.).

  • And now... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Billosaur ( 927319 ) * <wgrotherNO@SPAMoptonline.net> on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:29AM (#15811278) Journal
    This group goes with the others that in last days carried out attacks against governmental and commercial websites both from America and Israel, whereas other blackhat groups attacked Israeli websites provoking a denial of service (DDoS) of that particular webpage.

    On the one hand, this is news; NASA is a big target. On the other hand, why are we posting a link to the defacement? We don't need to see it -- just report the story.

    Look, I seriously doubt you're going to find that many people who think the war in Lebanon is a good thing, besides anyone with a vendetta against the Lebanese or the people selling bombs and rockets. You want to protest the war, fine -- but don't exepct me to care what you have to say when you can't make your voice heard in a public and legal forum. Defacing a website, any web site, is not the way to make me feel sympathy for your point of view.

    • Re:And now... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Blue Stone ( 582566 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:51AM (#15811411) Homepage Journal
      > [...] why are we posting a link to the defacement? We don't need to see it -- just report the story.

      We don't particularly need not to see it. So, why not?

    • but don't expect me to care what you have to say when you can't make your voice heard in a public and legal forum.

      Surely part of the point of the protest is that the mainstream media in the US is very biased? And that the horrors of the attack on Lebanon (it's not a war, because Lebanon hasn't any significant military forces) are being downplayed? Personally, I do care when a reasonable viewpoint is effectively denied a voice in mainstream forums.

    • "We don't need to see it -- just report the story."

      The defacement is the story. Were you being serious?

      "You want to protest the war, fine -- but don't exepct me to care what you have to say when you can't make your voice heard in a public and legal forum."

      And what sorts of "creative" things do you think groups of people do when their voice has been made null and void? [counterpunch.org] When you attempt to have your "voice heard in a public and legal forum" only to be ignored because you simply aren't as powerful as the

  • Why is this news? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Aaron England ( 681534 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:29AM (#15811283)
    Hacktivist hacks happen all the time. Is someone trolling for an Israeli-Lebanon Conflict discussion?
    • Hacktivist hacks happen all the time. Is someone trolling for an Israeli-Lebanon Conflict discussion?
      Hacking a NASA page is a fairly important story. But why not start an Israeli-Lebanon discussion? There is a politics section.

  • OS X hacked or the Web Application (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mitchell_pgh ( 536538 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:32AM (#15811301)
    What is not clear is... did they hack OS X or simply hack a web application running on OS X. I wouldn't say "Linux was hacked" if I was running an insecure forum or blog. The information is VERY thin, but I'm interested to see if OS really was hacked.

  • NASA (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ramble ( 940291 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:33AM (#15811303) Homepage
    Yeah! That'll show those NASA warlords.

  • I don't get it.. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by plasmacutter ( 901737 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:33AM (#15811304)
    When last I looked into this it was a unilateral isreali action.

    since when did NASA of all government agencies have to do with a war in lebanon.

    It seems to me like theyre doing the cyber equivalent to nasa that isrealis are doing to lebanese civillian centers.

    stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid....
    • > When last I looked into this it was a unilateral isreali action.

      Hizbollah is just a wee bit involved as well.

      > since when did NASA of all government agencies have to do with a war in lebanon. It seems to me like theyre doing the cyber equivalent to nasa that isrealis are doing to lebanese civillian centers.

      When you can't strike at a power, you strike at a perceived symbol of that power.

      Presumably the choice of symbol had a way whole lot to do with whose website they could crack.
    • "It seems to me like theyre doing the cyber equivalent to nasa that isrealis are doing to lebanese civillian centers."

      It seems to me to be kind of the same idea... The bombs and military equipment that the Israelis are using are primarily American manufactured.

    • Re:I don't get it.. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by lymond01 ( 314120 )
      It's simple. The same reason a civilian grocer and his family are disintegrated by an errant missile is the exact same reason someone would deface a NASA website to protest a war between two Middle-Eastern countries. Same reason we invaded Iraq to wreak revenge against the 9/11 terrorists from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

      Makes perfect sense to me. Well-documented too. Just look up "Insanity" in any psychological text, and you can find the branching information.

    • Re:I don't get it.. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by rmpotter ( 177221 )
      Targetting NASA is a bit off base BUT the U.S. has armed Israel to the teeth over the years and effectively given them carte blanche to take out Hezbollah at all cost. If the Israeli's could extend the buffer zone to include the Litani river and divert its water, they would probably do so.

      With America's blessing, Israel has essentially created its own little Apartheid state and until that gets fixed the U.S. will remain in the surreal position of sending weapons so Israel can bomb the bejesus out of Hezboll
    • Only NASA didn't launch a missle attack, invade their borders, kill four soldiers and abduct two others. Other than that, NASA = Lebanan. Yes, I know it was Hezbollah. That portion (27%?) of the Lebanese gov.

    • Re:I don't get it.. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by frdmfghtr ( 603968 )

      When last I looked into this it was a unilateral isreali action.

      Some may go as far as to say that the action was unilateral by the US using Israel as a puppet state to do the Bush administration's bidding. Some may also say that the US "support" for Israel's actions points toward the US being a puppet state of Israel (they sit in a region of vast oil resources and we don't). The heavy bombing in sountern Beirut amazingly stopped for several hours during Condolezza Rice's diplomatic trip to Beirut. Imag

  • Stupid activists (not a flame here.) (Score:5, Insightful)

    by roman_mir ( 125474 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:38AM (#15811337) Homepage Journal
    It is so easy to protest something that is right in your face on TV, isn't it? How about years and years of killing that have been going on in Israel by Hizballah and Hamas terrorist organizations? How about all those rockets that were launched at Israel from Lebanon within the past two decades? Maybe a UN server should be hacked, after all after 2000 UN and Lebanon was responsible for keeping Hizballah from amassing rockets and other weapons. Do these activists care when during the 'peace times' Israeli kids and adults get blown up?

    If anything, these protestors should thank Israel for taking action now and preventing more carnage later. One cannot constantly procrastinate in this kind of a situation, because it is only getting worse.

    Oh yes, and how about protesting where it actually makes sense: at Hizballah, at Lebanese, Iranian and Syrian governments. Protesting against regimes that allow terrorists to do what they do: use civilians AND UN folks as living shields on the battlefield. Not only are civilians used as shields, they are a great propaganda tool. When a terrorist launches a rocket at civilian targets in Israel from a busy market place in Lebanon, and Israeli army answers with fire at that place, is it the responsibility of Israel to make sure that Lebanese civilians do not suffer or is it responsibility of those, who used the civilians for their political gain around the world?

    Here are a couple [apazhe.net] of caricatures [solomonia.com] that do tell something about the reality of this war.

    • Re:Stupid activists (not a flame here.) (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Sir Homer ( 549339 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @11:08AM (#15811528)
      Reminds me of some interview I saw on BBC with a IDF general.

      BBC: You know you are killing innocent people?
      IDF General: We are currently targetting Hizballah areas where they store rockets and fire into Israel. We told all civilians to leave many times.
      BBC: Yeah but why kill innocent people?
      IDF General: Why are innocent people next to Hizballah rocket installations?
      BBC: But.. you can't..
      IDF General: This is the fundamental difference between Israelis and Lebonense. Israelis are currently sleeping in bomb shelters. Lebonese are sleeping with bombs.
      BBC: *Silence*
      • Targeting Hezbollah installations only? Right [blogger.com].

        There is no way they had to cause $60 billion dollar damage to the lebanese infrastructure, because they wanted to destroy some Hezbollah installations.

        • Re:Stupid activists (not a flame here.) (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Anonymous Coward
          There is no way they had to cause $60 billion dollar damage to the lebanese infrastructure, because they wanted to destroy some Hezbollah installations.

          Actually, yes, they do. This isn't Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols building a bomb in their basement. Hizballah is huge. It is far more powerful than the recognized government of Lebanon (and, for that matter, the largest party within that government).

          This conflict isn't about finding and detaining a few rogue criminals. It is a war between nations.

          The
    • It is so easy to protest something that is right in your face on TV, isn't it? How about years and years of killing that have been going on in Israel by Hizballah and Hamas terrorist organizations? How about all those rockets that were launched at Israel from Lebanon within the past two decades? Maybe a UN server should be hacked, after all after 2000 UN and Lebanon was responsible for keeping Hizballah from amassing rockets and other weapons. Do these activists care when during the 'peace times' Israeli k
    • It is so easy to protest something that is right in your face on TV, isn't it?

      Obviously not, considering all the things you ignore in your post.

      How about years and years of killing that have been going on in Israel by Hizballah and Hamas terrorist organizations?

      About as many years as Israel has been occupying territory outside its borders while disregarding its responsibilities as occupying power. Read carefully, I am not saying that they occupied territory for no good reason, but that once they did, they did not manage it in a way that was anywhere helpfull in solving the situation, and in some cases in direct violation of international law and treaties that Israel is a party to.

      Before that it was a bunch of Arab nations that thought to drive Israel into the sea (with said occupation as the result).

      The issue here is that the people living in those territories got a war on their doorstep without asking for it, and have since suffered mostly from Israelian military actions and irresponsible administration of their territories. It is absolutely no wonder they support anyone who seems to be able to act against this (even if such action works against them in the longer term, living in a war zone makes you think about today and maybe tomorrow, but not much further, which is a tendency people have already anyway)

      You may not remember this, but when Israel entered Southern Lebanon for the first time in the late 70s, they were hailed by the Shia population there as liberators because of them trying to get the PLO out. It only took a few years to reverse that situation however, not the least due to Israel refusing to control its proxy militia in South Lebanon (the South Lebanese Army). Israel did not create Hezbollah as such, but they are the ones responsible for it finding a lot of grassroots support among the South Lebanese people and having developed into what it is now.

      How about all those rockets that were launched at Israel from Lebanon within the past two decades?

      Many aimed at population centers with the aim to kill or wound civilians. Absolutely unacceptable.

      But how about taking an action that you know to have virtually zero chance of success and actually a high likelyhood of worsening the problem (and with history telling a clear lesson about this) that risks the life of many civilians? This is what Israel is doing in Lebanon today, again.

      Maybe a UN server should be hacked, after all after 2000 UN and Lebanon was responsible for keeping Hizballah from amassing rockets and other weapons. Do these activists care when during the 'peace times' Israeli kids and adults get blown up?

      Actually, they do. Thank political games from various parties involved (including, but definitely not limited to Israel) for the situation on the ground.

      If anything, these protestors should thank Israel for taking action now and preventing more carnage later. One cannot constantly procrastinate in this kind of a situation, because it is only getting worse.

      Acting in a way that has repeatedly shown to worsen the situation however is stupid, and when it causes damage on the scale the current actions in Lebanon are doing, it also does not deserve support, no matter how justified you believe Israel is in defending itself.

      Of course hacking NASA websites is not exactly a good way to make an opinion known, regardless of what the opinion is.

    • Re:Stupid activists (not a flame here.) (Score:4, Insightful)

      by A beautiful mind ( 821714 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @11:32AM (#15811655)
      if anything, these protestors should thank Israel for taking action now and preventing more carnage later.
      If anything, Israel is throwing a match into a powder keg. Can you imagine the public support now for Hezbollah, given that 800'000-1M lebanese are fleeing from their homes?

      We can argue, whether Israel is right for reacting somehow to the Hezbollah provocation. We CANNOT argue, that what Israel is doing now is not solving anything, given an average person's intelligence and given basic facts.

      There is no military solution to the middle east crisis, except a nuclear war. There is only a sociological/political solution.

      • Re:Stupid activists (not a flame here.) (Score:5, Insightful)

        by deanj ( 519759 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @11:49AM (#15811748)
        " We CANNOT argue,"

        Sure we can. You because YOU say we can't, doesn't mean anything. Especially what you judge has "basic facts". You need to read beyond whatever you've been reading.

        Hezbollah is dragging the civilian population of Lebanon into this by hiding amongst them, and rocketing Isreal as they do it. They set up next to those UN peacekeepers, they've kept some Lebanonese people from getting out of their homes in the south when those people try and leave. They've built tunnels back INTO Israel carry on this war.

        This is part of their whole gameplan. That IS a fact. The only way to disarm them is militarily. They're not going to go willingly, and they're certainly not just going to give up all those missiles that Syria has been supplying.

        • Especially what you judge has "basic facts". You need to read beyond whatever you've been reading.

          Thanks for telling me this, but I think the most important point about the futility of the situation is the Hundreds of thousands of lebanese escaping from their homes! No matter what you say can you make a person believe that this somehow doesn't make the situation worse!

          The only way to disarm them is militarily.

          Who the FUCK cares about disarming them? Ok. You go into the country, bomb the shit out of the

          • "On the other hand, if you leave lebanese alone, treat them as citizens of a sovereign state, not as second class humans, make them improve their economy and live better: Hezbollah support will disappear."

            Huh? I don't get it. Lebanon *is* a sovereign state. Israel *was* "leaving them alone", and what it got for that was six years of Hezbollah building itself up into the major power in Lebanon, stockpiling huge weapons caches with backing from the Iranians, and occasionally lobbing rockets and mortar shells

  • They did NOT hack OS X (Score:5, Informative)

    by mitchell_pgh ( 536538 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:43AM (#15811367)
    They did NOT hack OS X. They simply hacked the application database running on those platforms. Why would the author indicate OS X was hacked when really, it looks like a large number of the servers hacked were in fact running Linux.

    I'm not saying OS X is unhackable, but leaving ANY insecure server software running is asking to be hacked.

  • Spiral of Escalating Violence (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @10:49AM (#15811406) Homepage Journal
    When Martin Luther King led the nonviolent marches that pulled off a second American Revolution without a second Civil War, the marchers didn't trespass or tear down signs. That's why they changed the attitude and culture of America, which is the victory everyone needs in these conflicts. The victory that others who accepted or embraced violence lost, like Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, the Black Panthers, and all the hundreds of forgotten "freedom fighters". Even when their agenda and goals included important results that would be good for practically everyone, they polarized, alienated and pushed people into defensive positions on even indefensible parts of the status quo.

    Chileans vandalizing America when Israel attacks Lebanon doesn't change anyone's minds for the better. It just escalates by a little bit the spiral of violence:

    Ignorance -> Fear -> Anger -> Violence -> Alienation -> Ignorance

    The central front in the Terror War is in our own minds, where that well-worn cycle can send us all to our doom.
  • Hacking NASA's site to protest a conflict between Israel and Lebanon? Wow, why did't I think of that? Maybe if we bombed Chile we could defeat all hackers too!
  • These hackers need to be taught how much involved NASA is in killing Libanese people. :-p

  • South Americans? Arabs? Whats the difference (Score:4, Insightful)

    by damburger ( 981828 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @11:26AM (#15811630)

    It makes perfect sense that the hackers came from south america and not an arab country. My own government (the UK) is way ahead in removing that particular distinction [wikipedia.org]

    Seriously though, the reason they hit NASA was because they could. They almost certainly scanned through all US government sites for a vunerability they could exploit, and NASA just happened to have one.

    Also, you should be thanking them for this. This form of protest hurts exactly nobody. A sysadmin gets some extra overtime, thats all. If you guys didn't have contempt for peaceful forms of protest like this, perhaps people wouldn't feel the need to murder thousands of you just to get your attention.

    • If you guys didn't have contempt for peaceful forms of protest like this

      We have contempt for forms of protest that break the law.

      You want to protest in the streets of Chile? Go ahead. You want to march on Washington? Be my guest. You want to call the president nasty names? I'll join you.

      You want to do something productive, like start up your own site with the side of this that we're likely not seeing, at least not much, in the US? Please do.

      You want to break into a server because you can and

  • Photos you did not see on CNN (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 30, 2006 @12:48PM (#15812066)
    http://209.67.212.138/~lebanon/ [209.67.212.138]

    It hurts. Sure, you can find similar photos from Israel too, but these are a small group of extremists vs. a government who really should know better.

    Fuck Hizbollah, and fuck the Israeli government.

  • a side effect of the new war (Score:3)

    by Punto ( 100573 ) <puntob&gmail,com> on Sunday July 30, 2006 @02:37PM (#15812692) Homepage
    Why do we assume that an attack on a US 'target' (NASA) is protesting a war between israel and lebanon?
    Last time I checked, iraq was still at war..

  • Disarm Hizbollah? That worked so well in Iraq (Score:3, Insightful)

    by theolein ( 316044 ) on Sunday July 30, 2006 @06:46PM (#15813838) Journal
    First off, I want to add my voice to those that say: Fuck Israel and Fuck Hizbollah. Fuck Hizbollah for dragging Lebanese civillians into a war where they are utterly defenseless. Fuck Israel for so utterly disregarding civillian lives (accidents my fucking arse).

    Fuck Israel for being so fucking dumb as to not have learnt its lesson from the last time they invaded Lebanon. Hizbollah won then and Hizbollah is no weaker now. Fuck Israel for being so stupid as to always make disgustingly bad excuses for the wholesale slaughter of civillians. Fuck Israel again for being so numbingly stupid as to not realise that every bomb that falls on Lebanon makes Hizbollah more popular in the Arab world. And again, fuck Israel for achieving what no Iranian Mullah or politician could: unifying the Shia and Sunni sects against Israel and the west.

    You think Israel can disarm Hizbollah? You must have also thought that the US could pacify Iraq. Look how well that turned out and how "disarmed" they are.

    And Fuck Bush and his cabal of poodles in the UK who are too stupid to see where this is going: Destroying whatever miniscule amount of credibility the US and the UK had in the Arab world and dragging us one step closer to World war 3.

    And you know who must be laughing so hard at all of this that they must be pissing themselves: The Russians and the Chinese.

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