Tag Archives: environment
Syrian hackers get bitter over Twitter
Syrian hackers get bitter over Twitter Sarah Young / 29 August 2013 UAE Twitter users were frustrated when the popular social networking site went down this morning, in what is thought to be the result of an attack by supporters of the Syrian government. A hacking attack by the Syrian Electronic Army, a group which supports the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, is believed to have been behind the crashing of Western websites, including Twitter, Huffington Post , and the New York Times . The Twitter profile SyrianElectronicArmy (@Official_SEA16) wrote: “Twitter.ae is going down” at about 3am Wednesday morning, and users reported problems from about 8am yesterday morning. The PC interface for Twitter was still experiencing problems displaying on Wednesday afternoon, but users were able to use the site from mobile applications. McCollins Media director Meghna Kothari said hacks such as these were a “huge risk” for agencies managing the reputation of global and multinational clients, as often offensive messages were sent out to followers of clients by the hackers. “That has a huge affect on your business.” However, there were preventative measures that could be taken to protect your accounts, she said. “A lot of people don’t give a lot of importance to changing their passwords frequently, or if they do, they don’t make sure they’re case sensitive or strong enough.” Anyone who was managing Twitter accounts for clients should ensure they had their notifications on at all times, so they could track Tweets constantly and take immediate action if there were any problems. Clients, colleagues and followers should also be notified immediately if you had been hacked, she added. UAE resident Ali Ahmed Saeed said he experienced problems just after midnight, on Wednesday morning. “I was watching a football match and as I usually do I check my timeline every second to get any update about the match.” He realised his friend’s tweets were taking longer than normal to reach his timeline, and when a friend asked the Twitter community if anyone else was experiencing problems, it became clear it “was an international problem”, he added. He said it was frustrating as he used the site to get sports news and keep up to date about what was happening in the field. On Wednesday night, it “look(ed) like it was putting all my timeline tweets in a bowl, mixing it up and then returning to my timeline”, he added. The SyrianElectronicArmy account continued to claim its successes, and retweeted a tweet from Matthew Keys who tweeted that the group had confirmed they compromised Melbourne IT, an Australian company the companies affected registered their domains with, giving them access to NYTimes, Twitter (and) others, as well as posting a picture of blank black screen to show “How Twitter looks like when the twing.com (one of the domains Twitter uses for image serving) was down”. British national newspaper The Independent reported on Wednesday that this was the latest in a series of attacks against organisations believed to be sympathetic to Syrian rebels, but was “far more serious and sophisticated”. A statement from Twitter said that one of the domains it uses for image serving, twimg.com, was targeted, and that while “viewing of images and photos was sporadically impacted”, the original site was restored in under two hours, the Independent reported. The Associated Press also reported that an SEA activist confirmed its involvement with an email, saying: “I can’t say how, but yes we did hit Melbourne IT.” The NYTimes website was also reported to be down for a number of hours. sarah@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Brotherhood allies seek truce
Brotherhood allies seek truce (AP) / 26 August 2013 Two of Egypt’s former militant groups are offering an initiative to halt the country’s political violence, in which supporters of the ousted Islamist president will stop street protests if the military-backed government stops its crackdown on them, the groups’ leaders said on Monday. An Egyptian woman waits for her breakfast on a street fast food restaurant in Suleiman Gohar market in Dokki district in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday. -AP The initiative led by Egypt’s Gamaa Islamiya and Islamic Jihad movements, which waged an insurgency in the 1990s, aims to bring dialogue between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which toppled President Mohammed Mursi hails. Mursi was overthrown by the military on July 3 after millions took to the street demanding that he step down. Mursi’s allies had previously insisted that he be restored to power as starting point for any talks, but Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Abu Samra told The Associated Press that negotiations had no “red lines.” The groups do not speak for the Brotherhood, but the initiative is a new sign of flexibility from the pro-Mursi alliance of mostly Islamist groups. It comes as the Islamists’ protest campaign wanes and numbers at their formerly massive rallies dwindle. Hundreds of Brotherhood leaders and organisers have been arrested in the crackdown. Egypt’s worst bout of violence in its 2 ½ years of turmoil was set off when security forces backed by snipers and armoured vehicles moved in to break up two sprawling pro-Mursi protest camps on August 14. More than 1,000 people were killed in the raids and other violence over the next several days, mostly Mursi supporters. “We are paving the way for talks,” Abu Samra said over the phone. “We can’t hold talks while we are at the points of swords in the midst of killings and crackdowns.” He said the groups were “extending their hands” to avoid a bloodier confrontation with the military. He said that the Islamists will stop demonstrations so long as the military halts its crackdown and stops defaming the Brotherhood in mosques and in the media. Asked if Islamist groups would accept talks without demanding Mursi’s reinstatement, he said, “Blood is more valuable than the seat of power.” Top Muslim Brotherhood negotiator Amr Darrag said that the group is open for talks but after “confidence-building measures.” However, he added, “the other side didn’t show a single gesture or any sign that it is ready for dialogue. It only talks about it but no action.” It was not immediately possible to reach the interim president’s political advisers for comment. Egypt’s Interim Prime Minister Hazem El Beblawi had earlier told reporters that security measures will not be enough on their own and that Egypt “must go down the political path” to work out a democratic transition through reconciliation. However, he ruled out talks with anyone who had committed acts of violence. Continue reading
Social media fuels massive Philippine anti-graft rally
Social media fuels massive Philippine anti-graft rally (AFP) / 26 August 2013 Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the Philippine capital on Monday to voice outrage at corrupt politicians, in a modern-day “People Power” rally fuelled by social media. The march, emulated on a smaller scale in other cities around the country, was the largest anti-graft demonstration since President Benigno Aquino was elected in 2010 on a platform to fight corruption. Demonstrators gesture a thumbs down sign during a protest against official corruption at Luneta park in Metro Manila on Monday. -Reuters The protesters ranged from members of the clergy and students to businessmen, middle-class families, lawyers and other professionals, in a sign of the breadth of anger over graft in the impoverished nation. But while few called for the ousting of Aquino, whose personal ratings remain high, there was widespread fury with politicians. “We are all angry at all the stealing of the politicians. We are telling them that time is up,” said 80-year-old, retired university professor Teodoro Jurado. Organisers said the rally drew up to 400,000 people while the police estimate was a maximum of 100,000. Urban planner Paulo Alcazaren estimated 250,000-300,000 attended, based on the park’s size and aerial photographs he took. Calls for protest began circulating on Facebook and Twitter about two weeks ago after a series of newspaper articles about a major scam involving legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The fund is money allocated for lawmakers to be used in their pet development projects. Critics charge they are “pork barrel” projects which have traditionally been a source of corruption. At the centre of the controversy is a businesswoman who reportedly connived with legislators to syphon off some 10 billion pesos ($230 million) from the fund. She has since gone into hiding after being charged with the illegal detention of a whistleblower. Middle-aged physician Paz del Rosario, one of the protesters, said she attended “to be part of a historic event”. “Hopefully this will be the start of a bigger thing. All walks of life are here. This is from social media, the Internet, tweets and texts. There is no leader here,” she said. Many protesters wore pig masks and oinked in unison at noontime to condemn the legislators’ pork barrel. The influential Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Tagle, called on the crowd to be “honourable” and to work together for the less fortunate. “Let us look upon the oppressed and the poor as our true brothers. Let us listen to the heartbeat of our nation and the voice of God,” he said. Church leaders have previously played crucial roles in calling support for protests in the largely-Catholic Philippines, such as the 1986 “People Power” revolt that helped topple dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In 2001 a popular uprising overthrew the graft-tainted president Joseph Estrada. In the 1986 revolt, radio stations had helped summon the populace while in the 2001 uprising, it was cellphone SMS or “text” messages that brought many protesters out. Aquino had previously planned to expand the PDAF in his 2014 budget so that each senator would receive 200 million pesos ($4.5 million) while each member of the House of Representatives would get 70 million pesos. But in the face of growing anger last week, the president announced that he was suspending the releases of money and vowed to reform the system. At a speech marking the country’s national heroes’ day, Aquino said the government would catch those who stole state funds. “We will do everything in our power to find those who conspired to take advantage of the PDAF’s good intentions, and to hold them accountable,” he said. National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac said the rallies were all peaceful, and the Manila marchers even cleaned up the park afterwards. Continue reading
