Hack attack knocks out FBI site
FBI cracks down on hacker group -- then fbi.gov is knocked offline by hack
attack.
By Bob Sullivan and Brock Meeks, MSNBC
May 26, 1999 6:44 PM PT
A skirmish between the FBI and a well-known hacker group seemingly erupted
Wednesday.
Not long after federal agents served search warrants on members of hacker
group Global Hell (gH), probably in connection with recent attacks on U.S.
government computers, the FBI's own Web site was attacked and is currently
offline.
Earlier on Wednesday, MSNBC was told by a member of gH that the FBI had
served search warrants on several members of the hacker group. Last week,
gH member Eric Burns (who also goes by the name Zyklon), was arrested in
connection with three separate attacks on U.S. government computers,
including systems at the U.S. Information Agency.
A hacker identifying himself as "Most Hated," the founder of gH, told
MSNBC he was raided by agents at about 6 a.m. Wednesday morning in what he
described as a "a huge hacker crackdown."
He said he knows of nine people who were raided by government officials --
including four in Houston, three in California and one in Seattle. None
was arrested, but all had computer equipment confiscated, he said.
Late Wednesday, www.fbi.gov stopped working.
Credit claimed for hack
According to the Web site www.antionline.com, an individual calling
himself Israeli Ghost was taking credit for the attack on the FBI's
site.
The FBI was not immediately available to comment.
"FBI WILL NOT {expletive deleted} WITH MY FRIENDS FROM GLOBAL HELL," the
hacker allegedly wrote in an e-mail to Antionline.
Other members of the hacking community, contacted by MSNBC, said the FBI
site was hit by what's called a denial of service attack. In such an
attack, the host computer is not actually controlled by an outsider;
rather, outsiders bombard a Web site with so many simultaneous hits that
it becomes overwhelmed and can no longer function.
Most Hated said he didn't know who was responsible for the DOS attack. He
said the FBI agents who raided him said the raid was in connection with
"illegal telecom activity," which he believes is related to fraudulent
teleconferences he set up.
White House hack connection
"The FBI told me that they were looking into illegal telecom activity,"
Most Hated told MSNBC. "The FBI said some company lost $250,000."
-o-
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