[ISN] Junta in cyber war against dissidents

From: InfoSec News <alerts_at_private>
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:07:18 -0500 (CDT)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24386685-2703,00.html

By Kenneth Denby
Mandalay 
September 23, 2008

A YEAR after emailed images of Burma's brutal crackdown against 
democracy demonstrations were transmitted across the world, the junta 
has launched a ferocious "cyber war" against dissidents who use the 
internet.

In the past few days, anti-government websites run by exiled Burmese 
have been inundated by artificially generated traffic that has forced 
them to shut down.

The attacks coincided with the first anniversary of the "saffron 
uprising" -- 10 days of demonstrations by Buddhist monks and students 
that culminated in a crackdown in which dozens were killed and thousands 
arrested.

The concerted attacks -- which appear to originate in China, Russia and 
Europe as well as Burma -- can only be the work of agents of the Burmese 
Government and may be an effort to compensate for its failure last year 
to stem the flow of images showing vast columns of unarmed demonstrators 
and their eventual dispersal under a rain of bullets and truncheons.

Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy magazine and news website, based in 
the Thai city ofChiang Mai, said: "This attack is revenge. Last year, 
thepeople beat the Government in the cyber wars by getting lotsof images 
and live news reporting out."

The cyber attacks began last Wednesday when three websites -- The 
Irrawaddy, the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma and the New Era in 
Bangkok -- became inaccessible.

[...]


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Received on Tue Sep 23 2008 - 22:07:18 PDT

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