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Anti-IS hackers claim responsibility for cyber attack on BBC
A group of hackers that intend to target Islamic State (IS) online has claimed it was responsible for the recent cyber attack on the BBC, undertaken to test its own capabilities.
“It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours,” the New World Hacking group said in a message to BBC technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, which he later posted on Twitter.
“We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers ... who is there to fight off online terrorists?” they added.
The attack resulted in the British broadcaster’s popular online news and iPlayer catch-up services being taken down for a few hours on New Year’s Eve.
The US-based group claims it carried out a “distributed denial of service” attack, which tries to knock a site offline by swamping it with more traffic than it can cope with.
“The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power.”
The BBC has refused to comment on New World Hacking’s claim that it was responsible for the cyber attack.
A member of the group, nicknamed Ownz, told BBC News website that the 12-strong group’s other recent activities have included taking part in a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan and the #OpParis effort to identify IS social media accounts following the November attacks on the French capital.
A group of hackers that intend to target Islamic State (IS) online has claimed it was responsible for the recent cyber attack on the BBC, undertaken to test its own capabilities.
“It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours,” the New World Hacking group said in a message to BBC technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, which he later posted on Twitter.
“We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers ... who is there to fight off online terrorists?” they added.
The attack resulted in the British broadcaster’s popular online news and iPlayer catch-up services being taken down for a few hours on New Year’s Eve.
The US-based group claims it carried out a “distributed denial of service” attack, which tries to knock a site offline by swamping it with more traffic than it can cope with.
“The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power.”
The BBC has refused to comment on New World Hacking’s claim that it was responsible for the cyber attack.
A member of the group, nicknamed Ownz, told BBC News website that the 12-strong group’s other recent activities have included taking part in a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan and the #OpParis effort to identify IS social media accounts following the November attacks on the French capital.