Hacking Muqtada

The USG Open Source Center reports on the hacking of the Sadr Movement's website and its hijacking for anti-Shiite polemics. Cyberwar as part of the Iraq War is nothing new, as I noted in this column last February. The sectarian civil war in Iraq is being fought at every level, from poisoned watermelons and dog-bombs, to decapitated bodies, to DOS attacks and hacking web sites.

Iraq: Al-Sadr Website Hacked; Hacker Says Shiite Sites To Face Same 'Fate' Iraq-- OSC Summary Friday, June 29, 2007 When checked on 29 June, Al-Sadr website, www.alsader.com, which used to post statements and news of Muqtada al-Sader, was found to be hacked. The site now has a black background with the following written on the homepage: "Peace be upon you God damn Shiites wherever they may reside or go May they and this site of theirs never rise for as long as I live, God willing This will be the fate of all their sites, God willing." The hacker, who calls himself "Billy", posts a hyperlinked e-mail address as shown in the below snapshot of the homepage. Homepage of hacked Al-Sadr website Under the headline "Shia Scandals", the hacker cites paragraphs from a book by Al-Khomeini.