Russian Hackers Attack Georgian Web Sites
Computer Geeks Open New Front In War, Launch Cyber Assaults Against Virtual Targets
-
Play CBS Video
Video
Foreign Hacker Alert
Every day, hackers break through firewalls guarding the nation's most confidential computer networks. Bob Orr reports how Washington is stepping up efforts to protect itself from a cyber-invasion.
-
Video
Hacker Scam Implicates Victims
Criminals involved in a computer scam called robot network, or "botnet," take control of personal computers and steal using the identity of their victims. Daniel Sieberg reports.
-
Photo
(CBS/AP)
-
Interactive
Cyber Crime
Find out about viruses, worms, and other ways people can attack both you and your computer online.
-
Interactive
PC Perils
Facts on viruses and other computer menaces, security tips and a timeline of virus attacks.
Tom Burling, acting chief executive of Atlanta-based Web-hosting firm Tulip Systems Inc., said the Web site of the president of Georgia was the target of a flood of traffic from Russia aiming to overwhelm the site. Burling said bogus traffic outnumbered legitimate traffic 5000 to 1 at president.gov.ge.
"Literally, our people aren't getting any sleep," Burling said.
Tulip's firewall was blocking most of the malicious traffic. The site has been periodically inaccessible, though it was working midday Tuesday. Burling said the attacks have been reported to the FBI.
The site was transferred from servers in Georgia, the small nation south of Russia, on Saturday. Georgian-born Nino Doijashvili, Tulip's chief executive and founder, happened to be in the country on vacation when fighting broke out Thursday. Doijashvili offered help to the government when it became apparent that Russian hackers were getting the upper hand, shutting down several government and news sites.
The U.S.-based Shadowserver Foundation, which tracks Internet attacks, said they had noticed commands to attack Georgian sites being issued over the weekend to "botnets," or networks of computers that have been surreptitiously subverted by hackers. The computers are used to send bogus traffic to targeted sites, slowing them or in some cases bringing them down.
The same botnets are also targeting Russian news sites and the Web site of Gary Kasparov, the Russian chess player and political activist, according to Steven Adair at Shadowserver.
On Monday, hackers took over the Web site of Georgia's parliament and replaced it with an image that drew parallels between Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili and Adolf Hitler, Adair said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



Posted by OneAmerican_
Correction;
The world will never have peace until the American BUSH regime is destroyed.
Remember, teens. Even you can join the war effort! xP
The Russians are the second largest supplier of gas & oil on the planet.
This pipeline was constructed to circumvent Russian pipelines supplying Europe giving the US Brits et al the lions share of the market.
Taking out Iraq also took a major source of oil away from Russia.
The Russians are now evening the score.