A hacker going by the name of rEd X hacked the Web site for the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) this morning, leaving a message saying: "Proud to be a Bangladeshi hacker. Dear ADMIN secure your site!"
The message was accompanied by an ominous image and foreign music by what sounds like an anime character.
According to ehackingnews.com, in August last year, rEd X was responsible for the hacking of at least 80 Web sites, with another 60 Indian Web sites hacked by rEd X in October.
The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) responded to the hacking incident saying: "Yes, RTIA is aware that the Aarto Web site has been hacked and the RTMC, who are owners of the Web site, have been informed."
At the time of publication, the Aarto Web site was down completely.
Other victims
Aarto is not the first government Web site to be hacked. In December, three government Web sites were exposed to cyber attacks.
The department of social development's Web site opened to a black page with a window containing an animated graphic saying: "Website hacked by H4ksniper", and another image depicting a heart rate monitor.
Another message on the Web site read: "Hello South Africa , Bad News For You IM BACK ! ..You Messed Wi[t]h Us & Now You Must Suffer..From Morocco with love." (Sic)
The Presidential National Commission and the National Population Unit's Web sites were similarly breached.
Learn more
For more in-depth discussions on security and cyber crime, be sure to attend the ITWeb Security Summit, to be held from 7 to 10 May, at the Sandton Convention Centre. In particular, keynote speaker Misha Glenny will discuss the struggle for the Internet, with emphasis on Web control, crime, commercial espionage, spying and warfare. For more information and to book your place at the event, click here.
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