Malaysia Airlines website hackedJanuary 26, 2015 - 11:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Malaysia Airlines website was commandeered on Monday, Jan 26, by hackers who referenced Islamic State jihadists and claimed to be from the Lizard Squad, a group known for previous denial-of-service attacks, AFP reports. It was not clear why the troubled airline was targeted but the hacking group said on its Twitter feed that it was "Going to dump some loot found on malaysiaairlines.com servers soon." Visitors to the website were re-directed to another page bearing an image of a tuxedo-wearing lizard and reading "Hacked by LIZARD SQUAD -- OFFICIAL CYBER CALIPHATE". It also carried the headline "404 - Plane Not Found", an apparent reference to the airlines' puzzling loss of flight MH370 last year with 239 people aboard which tipped the already struggling carrier into crisis. Media reports said versions of the website takeover in some regions included the wording "ISIS will prevail". Malaysia Airlines released a statement confirming its Internet domain name had been compromised, re-directing users. "At this stage, Malaysia Airlines' web servers are intact," it said, but added it could take nearly 24 hours to fully resolve the issue, which it had reported to Malaysian authorities. "Malaysia Airlines assures customers and clients that its website was not hacked and this temporary glitch does not affect their bookings and that user data remains secured," it said, according to AFP. The Lizard Squad is a group of hackers that has caused havoc in the online world before, taking credit for attacks that took down the Sony PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Xbox Live network last month. The extent of any links with the Islamic State, however, are not yet known. The jihadist group has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in a brutal campaign and declared an independent Islamic "caliphate". It also has used social media in recruiting and spreading its message. The group has prompted world revulsion with its video-taped executions of journalists and other foreigners it has captured. On Sunday, it claimed to have beheaded a Japanese security contractor. A second Japanese captive has also been threatened with execution. Concerns over IS have spiked in Malaysia after scores of its citizens were lured to the Syrian jihad. Malaysian authorities last week said they have detained 120 people suspected of having IS sympathies or planning to travel to Syria. The unexplained loss of MH370 and the airlines' poor crisis-handling in the aftermath of the disappearance severely damaged public confidence in the carrier, sending business into a tailspin. It has since been taken over by a Malaysian government investment fund seeking to rescue the company. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event. Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Russia confirms start of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh The Kremlin has confirmed reports about the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh. France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan France on April 16 said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. |