Not so Anonymous: Hacktivists inspire Russian student to attack govt. website

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Published time: June 05, 2012 16:28
Edited time: June 05, 2012 20:52

A video clip made by the “Anonymous” hacker group has inspired a student from Krasnoyarsk to attack Russian government websites.

The 19 year-old came across the video clip on the Internet.

By simply following the instructions he allegedly decided to try them on Russia’s official government and premiere websites – www.government.ru and www.premier.ru.

Police said the young man used his skills and knowledge and harmful software to block the websites.

The student, whose name is not revealed, has not denied organizing the cyber-attacks.

Police say he may also be linked to attacks on Russian government’ websites on May 6 and 7th. The young hacker could face up to four years in prison if found guilty.

The Anonymous hacker group became widely known in late 2010 after a series of cyber-attacks on US companies and organizations that oppose Wikileaks.  The hackers attacked the sites of the Federal Trade Commission, the CIA and the FBI. PayPal, Visa and MasterCard also became victims of cyber-attacks.

The Krasnoyarsk case is just the latest attack on websites around the world.

In March a Chinese hacker, working with one of the world's largest online retailers Tencent attacked the sites of the Indian government and Tibetan activists in India.