Film and Publications Board site hacked

Johannesburg, 27 Jul 2011

The content-classification authority, Film and Publications Board's (FPB's) Web site was hacked this morning, leaving the site offline and defaced.

After the attack, the Web site displayed the following text: “# Hacked By Dr.KroOoZ # TTG Comes Again FPB =), Dr.KroOoZ , Msn: R6G@Hotmail.Com “

According to FPB acting communications manager, Prince Mlimandlela Ndamase, the attack, reported in the early hours of the morning, has since been attended to and the Web site is up and running again. He says even though the attack caused disruptions to the FPB's network, the impact was minimal.

Ndamase says hackers are always trying to attack the FPB site and the organisation has put security measures in place to protect its data. The board's technical staff are still carrying out forensic investigations on the attack, he notes.

This latest attack joins spate of hacks, which include this week's attack on the ANC Youth League's Web site.

Security firm McAfee's 2011 Threat Predictions report warned that attacks undertaken by hacktivist groups or individuals are expected to proliferate this year, as more citizens seek to make extreme political statements online.

During this year's ITWeb's Security Summit, Anthony Olivier, MD of Performanta Consulting, also warned that cyber attacks against South African organisations will increase in both frequency and intensity. This will occur as the country shifts into a new era of information security in which national interests will progressively conflict with the principles of Internet transparency.