Hacker offers to shut Putin`s website
ByLine: NICK PATON WALSH IN MOSCOW
In the spirit of the free market computer hackers in Russia have put their services up for sale, offering to
"take out" any website for a price.
Several hackers have posted a menu of services on the internet. The most popular is a Direct Denial of Service (DDoS)
attack, in which a website and server can be disabled by being bombarded with emails and other information.
These tactics have been used against large software com-panies such as Microsoft, disliked by some hackers for its
monopoly on software. The MyDoom.B virus was used to try to shut down the website Microsoft.com through a DDoS attack
earlier this year.
The hackers' services were easily found by the Guardian.
One, forum.carderplanet.cc, carries a request from a user called jm electron, who seeks "people who can do quite
powerful DDoS attacks". TomCat replies that he is able to assist.
The Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday that one hacker, Masha, offered to shut down any website for six hours
for $60 (pounds 33). The official website of President Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru, could be shut down for a week for
$2,000, said Masha.
|
RUSSIA IN FACTS
