'Anonymous' hackers' group targets Iran

A self-proclaimed "cause-oriented" hackers' group hinted at cyber-attacks on Iranian websites on Labor Day, even as Iranian hackers were accused of trying to break into a Bahraini government website. The hackers' group Anonymous, which had been linked to denial-of-service attacks in the past, hinted at the attacks in an online statement. "We can see that Iran still suffers at the hands of those in power. Your former government has seized control and tries to silence you ... People of Iran - your rights belong to you. You have the right to free speech and free press, the freedom to assemble and to be safe in your person. You have the right to live free and without fear," it said. It added that workers everywhere are already taking their proper place, to lead and control their destiny, to speak on their own behalf, to speak for their future generations, and to speak on behalf of their dead. Such change is embodied by the people of Iran, it added. "Though your suffering is great, your strength is greater. Though your trial is long, your will persists. The people of Iran have the admiration of Anonymous, and the entire world," it added. A separate story on CNET said the hacking may have already started Saturday when the group defaced websites supposedly previously attacked by the Iranian Cyber Army. The CNET story said that the sites attacked by Anonymous include that of an information systems firm and a Ukranian dancing group. Both attacks bore similar messages, with the lines "This Site Is Hacked By Anonymous Hackers .#OpIran" and "F*** Y0u 1Ranian G0urment". Meanwhile, Bahrain's state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported that Iranian hackers tried on Friday to hack into the official website of the Housing Ministry. It said that there was an attempt to access the ministry’s database regarding beneficiaries of the housing services in Bahrain. "However, they failed to carry out this criminal act which testifies to their latent rancor," the BNA report added. The BNA said that the ministry has announced that its website has been broken into by unidentified persons but the housing database remained intact. It also said officials at the ministry’s IT department are working on putting things back into order, even as they denied the leak of any data. — TJD, GMA News