Hacktivism on upswing in S.America
Nov 2, 2011 15:25:18 GMT
Post by bixaorellana on Nov 2, 2011 15:25:18 GMT
Hacks into government websites in Columbia have almost doubled in the past year. Ironically, Venezuela has less of a problem because of its slow internet connections. However, Venezuela has one of the highest Twitter usage rates in the world, which has made Twitter the prime target there.
As computers and the Internet have become more prevalent in the region, homegrown cyber-activists are taking cues from groups in Europe and the United States, analysts said.
Just this year, groups claiming to be affiliates of Anonymous — perhaps the largest and most well-known hacker group — have sprung up in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela.
For the most part, the attacks in Latin America have been benign. Earlier this year, Colombia was on alert after hackers published police officers’ contact information, but the data ultimately did not represent a security threat, officials said.
But it’s just a matter of time before a real threat emerges, said Lt. Col. Jairo Gordillo, the head of the Information Technology Group inside Colombia’s National Police.
“Hacktivism represents the greatest potential risk, because it can scale-up very quickly,” he said. “Groups like Anonymous, for now, are focused on denial-of-service attacks…. but sometime they might attack a page that provides critical services, and that might lead to collateral damage if someone needed those services.”
Gordillo said police have already spotted hackers breaking into the national communication system and other state infrastructure.
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As computers and the Internet have become more prevalent in the region, homegrown cyber-activists are taking cues from groups in Europe and the United States, analysts said.
Just this year, groups claiming to be affiliates of Anonymous — perhaps the largest and most well-known hacker group — have sprung up in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela.
For the most part, the attacks in Latin America have been benign. Earlier this year, Colombia was on alert after hackers published police officers’ contact information, but the data ultimately did not represent a security threat, officials said.
But it’s just a matter of time before a real threat emerges, said Lt. Col. Jairo Gordillo, the head of the Information Technology Group inside Colombia’s National Police.
“Hacktivism represents the greatest potential risk, because it can scale-up very quickly,” he said. “Groups like Anonymous, for now, are focused on denial-of-service attacks…. but sometime they might attack a page that provides critical services, and that might lead to collateral damage if someone needed those services.”
Gordillo said police have already spotted hackers breaking into the national communication system and other state infrastructure.
click text for full story