A group at odds with IS (Islamic State) has come forward, taking responsibility for the cyberattacks on the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) websites on New Year's Eve.
The group, New World Hacking, admitted that it might have made a bad decision when it took down BBC's sites for several hours on the last day of the year. However, the group said they were simply looking for a way to test its own might.
New World Hacking reached out to BBC Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones to explain the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack that took down BBC's online services.
"It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours," the group said in the message to Cellan-Jones. "We realize sometimes what we do is not always the right choice. But without cyber hackers, who is there to fight off online terrorists?"
The BBC hasn't officially confirmed that it had in fact suffered a DDoS attack, but a source inside the company supported the claims of New World Hacking.
The BBC website is now back up and operating normally. We apologise for any inconvenience you may have experienced.
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) December 31, 2015
We're aware of a technical issue affecting the BBC website and are working to fix this now. We'll update you as soon as we can. — BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) December 31, 2015
While the assault on the BBC was intended to be a test, offensives against Ku Klux Klan weren't, according to "Ownz," a group member who told BBC that their team was composed of 12 people. The team of eight males and four females, formed in 2012, also supported the #OpParis campaign to shut down the social media channels and accounts of IS.
The more infamous hacking group, Anonymous, may or may not have had its hands in that #OpParis campaign, depending on who's answering for them. Anonymous declared war on Turkey's banks and Internet infrastructure on Dec. 29.
The group took down more than 400,000 websites in Turkey for a full week in December, Monday to Monday. The collective called for Turkey to stop buying oil from IS and caring for the terrorist organization's wounded.
"We won't accept that [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, the leader of Turkey, will help Isis any longer," states a video from someone claiming to represent Anonymous. "The news media has already stated that Turkey's internet has been the victim of massive DDoS attacks."
Photo: chiefmoamba | Flickr
