Wednesday, August 22, 2012

DoktorBass: The Right Medicine?

Concerted effort, or lone vigilante?
Last weekend, a number of Faroe Islands websites, Facebook, Twitter and email accounts came under attack from an anonymous source, seemingly based in Australia. The originator of these hacks calls himself DoktorBass.
Last Saturday on a publically-accessible site, he posted an extensive list of around 200 e-addresses under the title #OpHarpoon: 'an operation to attempt to try and stop whaling.' (As you know, the Faroe Islanders regularly herd entire pods of pilot whales into shallow bays, and kill them in traditional and brutal fashion.) The site was arranged so that others of a similar motivation could download his material and escalate the hacking. It carried the warning: "To those who support killing whales we only have one thing to say, expect us".
This is not the first e-assault by DoktorBass - he originated eight in July alone, with his targets widespread in location and subject. His pastebin features titles such as Gold Coast Dating site; #OpFuckUganda; luxuryhomesAustralia.com.au; #OpPedoChat; Paraguayan websites, lawyers and attorneys...and even the FBI! While these have gained little support (in terms of copying/pasting), the latest Faroes attack has - at time of writing - had more than 11,500 hits...and thus I assume a flow-on effect at the Faroe Islands receiving end.
I wholeheartedly support the recent viral attacks on Iranian govt computers (it seems a better safer option to disrupt it's nuclear programme virally, rather than by military attack!). DoktorBass's assault however looks highly unlikely to disrupt the FI economy or cripple its govt. It may prove nothing more than an inconvenience, and achieve little.
Mind you, hacking the FBI may have quite a different result..!

1 comment:

  1. To all the 'Anonymous' replies:

    So, if we're all such "miserable bastards, one way or another", do any of us have any right to hack other people's websites?
    Does it really achieve anything?
    Will it change the world, to see what emails others have written, or temporarily stop them from sending others?

    ReplyDelete