Hackers Strike More Jewish Websites

Pro-Palestinian hackers, apparently traced to Turkey, defaced additional Jewish websites over the weekend – the Dix Hills Jewish Center in Long Island, the London Jewish Chronicle, and Israeli site Israelweather.co.il. The Jewish Week (New York) reports:

In what authorities see as an increasing phenomenon, pro-Palestinian hackers disrupted three Jewish Web sites in three parts of the world last Sunday afternoon, including that of the Dix Hills Jewish Center on Long Island.

The other two sites hacked were those of the London Jewish Chronicle and the Israeli Web site, Israelweather.il. Both appear to have been struck by the same hacker; the same page was posted on both. The message, in English and Turkish, was in support of “Palestinian Mujahaeeds” (terrorists) and contained a Palestinian flag and anti-Semitic rantings.”

The hacking earlier in January of 3 Boulder-area Jewish websites is mentioned in the article.  Here’s the full post: Pro-Palestinian Hackers Wreaking New Havoc, and here’s the earlier Boulder Jewish News article Three Boulder Jewish Websites Defaced.

The Jewish Week’s article also includes the following guidance for website safety:

SCN [Secure Community Network, the official address for Homeland Security initiatives of the organized Jewish community] has posted an alert on its Web site, www.scnus.org, advising all Jewish institutions to take steps to protect themselves from being hacked. Among the suggestions:

• keep your firewall turned on and up to date;
• ensure any unnecessary open ports are closed whenever possible;
• install and/or update antivirus software;
• be careful what you download;
• any computer that is used for critical computing for your organization — such as banking, Web site administration, etc. — should not be used to browse the Internet for any reason or used for e-mail.

Goldenberg [Paul Goldenberg, National Director of SCN] said should a Jewish organization’s Web site be hacked, local police and the FBI should be notified immediately. He said the hacked Web page should not be removed until advised to do so by authorities to give them a chance to trace its origins.”

Finally, the FBI encourages those who have been a victim of an Internet crime to make a report to www.ic3.gov.