Sources of hacker attacks on opposition web site identified

An opposition news site reported today that it had identified the four sources of the most recent attack on its servers.


Norooz, the news site of the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the only information outlet of this opposition party, has been the target of three major Internet attacks since the disputed election of June 12. Low-level and constant assaults on the site's servers have been a daily nuisance. The regime has also employed more traditional methods, from the arrest of its technical staff to threats against its directors, to halt the news service.

According to Norooz, following foiled attempts which used fake IPs, the latest digital onslaught allowed the opposition site to identify the sources of the attacks.

Norooz has identified them as the Islamic Republic Sports Organization, which oversees all the country's federations; Iran Aseman Airlines, based at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport; Iran Khodro Industrial Group, the country's largest automaker; and the Communications and Information Technology Ministry.

'It is impossible to say, given the current information, whether these attacks are occurring with the knowledge and cooperation of these organizations' directors,' Norooz admitted. 'But according to international Internet regulations, these organizations are responsible for the way their Internet addresses are used.'

Norooz published the names of those within the organizations who are responsible for respecting international Internet regulations, stressing that this information is in the public domain. The news service warned the individuals and their organizations to quickly bring an end to the attacks on its site and 'other sites of the Green Movement.' Norooz said that it reserved the right to file complaints with international bodies.

The opposition site was the object of such attacks even before the disputed presidential election. In early Novermber, 2007, Norooz was inaccessible for a week and its technical director told Emrouz that it had been hacked.

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