OK, which one of you guys Hacked into a Epilepsy Foundation .....

min0 lee · 05-08-2008, 10:42 AM

....and posted flashing images?

Hackers hit Epilepsy Foundation, spark mass fits

Quote:

COMPUTER hackers have been blasted for a sick attack on a self-help group that left many innocent victims in agony.

Hackers are not known for physical assaults.

But in a rare example of an attack apparently motivated by malice rather than money, hackers recently bombarded the Epilepsy Foundation's website with hundreds of pictures and links to pages with rapidly flashing images.

The breach triggered severe migraines and near-seizure reactions in some site visitors who viewed the images. People with photosensitive epilepsy can get seizures when they're exposed to flickering images, a response also caused by some video games and cartoons.

The attack happened when hackers exploited a security hole in the foundation's publishing software that allowed them to quickly make numerous posts and overwhelm the site's support forums.

Within the hackers' posts were small flashing pictures and links - masquerading as helpful - to pages that exploded with kaleidoscopic images pulsating with different colors.

"They were out to create seizures," said Ken Lowenberg, senior director of Web and print publishing for the foundation, which is based in Landover, Maryland.

He said legitimate users are no longer able to post animated images to the support forum or create direct links to other sites, and it is now moderated around the clock. He said the FBI is investigating the breach.

Security experts said the attack highlights the dangers of websites giving visitors great freedom to post content to different parts of the site.

In another recent attack, hackers exploited a simple coding vulnerability in Senator Barack Obama's website to redirect users visiting the community blogs section to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's official campaign site.

The hackers who infiltrated the Epilepsy Foundation's site did not appear to care about profit. The harmful pages did not appear to try to push down code that would allow the hacker to gain control of the victims' computers, for instance.

"I count this in the same category of teenagers who think it's funny to put a cat in a bag and throw it over a clothesline - they don't realize how cruel it is," said Paul Ferguson, a security researcher at antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc. "It was an opportunity waiting to happen for some mean-spirited kid."

In a similar attack this year, a piece of malicious code was released that disabled software that reads text aloud from a computer screen for blind and visually impaired people. That attack appeared to have been designed to cripple the computers of people using illegal copies of the software, researchers said

**IainDaniel** · 05-08-2008, 11:01 AM

min0 lee · 05-08-2008, 11:09 AM

It's going to be hot where your going sonny.

min0 lee · 05-08-2008, 11:10 AM

Damn...that's annoying.

**IainDaniel** · 05-08-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

It's going to be hot where your going sonny.

HAHA

Good I hate the winter

maniclion · 05-08-2008, 12:31 PM

Sounds like a 4chan epic lolz tactic....

05-08-2008, 11:01 AM	#2
IainDaniel My Role Model Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 14,778
	Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Michael Jordan

05-08-2008, 11:09 AM	#3
min0 lee I See© Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 29,667 Blog Entries: 3 Photos: 542	It's going to be hot where your going sonny.
	How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Bodybuilding and Lifting Weights, the Difference ironmagazine-frapper Ron Paul 2008....maybe....

05-08-2008, 11:10 AM	#4
min0 lee I See© Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 29,667 Blog Entries: 3 Photos: 542	Damn...that's annoying.
	How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Bodybuilding and Lifting Weights, the Difference ironmagazine-frapper Ron Paul 2008....maybe....

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode