Computer hackers calling themselves "H4CK1NG F0R G1RL13Z," or HFG, disabled the New York Times Web site for hours Sunday in what appears to be an act of revenge against a Times reporter.
The Times' site was hacked some time after 7:00 AM ET and replaced with a page attacking the Times, reporter John Markoff and other figures (the page was captured by hacker site AntiOnline). After repeated failed attempts to remove the cryptically worded pages, which were peppered with sexually explicit and threatening passages, Times officials had the site taken offline at 10:20 AM ET. It was brought back up at 7:40 PM ET, but remains difficult to reach.
 |
| Why do you think the New York Times was targeted by hackers? Add your comments to the bottom of this page. |
|
|
 |
"We're working hard to get the site back up," said Rich Meislin, editor in chief for the New York Times Electronic Media Co. "We're working to close the security holes."
But as the clock ticks on, the Times is losing traffic and commerce, and critics are speculating at the reasons why the newspaper site has been targeted for the hacking.
Payback
"In a way, this is a payback from the hacker community. . . It's unfortunate that this happened, but the hackers definitely picked the right target," said Simson Garfinkel, author of the 1997 book 'Web Security and Commerce.' Garfinkel is an outspoken critic of Times technology reporter John Markoff.
Markoff has been perhaps the most prominent chronicler of the 3-1/2 year saga about Kevin Mitnick, who was imprisoned for repeated and serious hacking violations, but has not been allowed as many court hearings as he is entitled to, according to critics. Among other things, Markoff has been accused of a conflict of interest since he signed a book deal for 'TakeDown' (a book Markoff wrote with Tsutomo Shimomura), and penned a screenplay about Mitnick's saga. He has also been accused of overblowing Mitnick's crimes, ensuring his extended stay in prison.
"For the most part, Mitnick is not getting a fair hearing. But the New York Times is more responsible than others in perpetrating a myth of him being a major serious hacker," Garfinkel said.
Times condemns hack
Times spokeswoman Nancy Nielsen shrugged off the criticism of Markoff, instead focusing on the hackers' actions.
"This is a very serious crime, and once the hackers are identified or tracked down, we will prosecute to the full extent of the law," Nielsen said.
Another target of the hackers was Carolyn Meinel, author of 'The Happy Hacker: A Guide to Mostly Harmless Hacking.' Meinel, who sponsored a controversial hacking contest earlier this year, was prominently mentioned on the Times hack.
She suggests that HFG wanted to thumb its collective nose at her. Her book focuses on so-called "white hat hacking," or hacking to understand computer function or to help solve computer problems. The book repeatedly condemns "black hat" hackers.
"(Black hat hackers) feel inferior and stupid, and they want to prove that they are worthy of this new technological culture," she told ZDNN. "If they hack computers, they think they prove they are geniuses."
The hackers said that Meinel paid them $10,000 of an advance for an upcoming book in exchange for an exclusive story about the hackers' operations. Meinel's name, phone number, address and social security number were listed on the source code to the site. Meinel scoffed at the suggestion.
Sites shown vulnerable
The Times incident underscores the vulnerability of sites, including other high-profile sites like Motorola, the Department of Justice and the CIA, which have been hacked and virtually shut down for hours.
"Many people don't understand the importance of having secure computers all of the time," Garfinkel said. "The people really at fault are the people who manufacture software that run their servers."
Meinel added that the hackers were probably running software to identify security vulnerabilities on a number of sites, and acted swiftly when they found the Times unguarded.
"There are programs available on the Web that will scan and keep checking for vulnerabilities. There was probably a team working to exploit it as soon as they could."
Martha L. Stone teaches New Media & Technology at Roosevelt University in Chicago and writes frequently for ZDNN. Mark Stevenson of ZDNN partner site MSBNC.com contributed to this story.
