'Anonymous hacks Syrian Ministry of Defense website'

Global hacking collective replaces content of ministry website with Syrian flag, Anonymous logo, message of support for anti-Assad gov't protesters.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Anonymous Syrian Hack 311 (photo credit: Screen Shot)
Anonymous Syrian Hack 311
(photo credit: Screen Shot)
Online hacking community Anonymous joined the Syrian anti-government protesters Monday, allegedly swapping the content of the Syrian Ministry of Defense website with a message of support for anti-regime protesters, CNN reported. The attack is the latest Internet sabotage carried out by the group against an Arab government since the start of the so-called Arab Spring last January.
The group reportedly replaced the Syrian Ministry of Defense website's content with still images from amateur anti-regime clips, a Syrian flag carrying the group's logo - a headless man in a suit - and a message of support to anti-government protesters.
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At the time of the hack, the home page of the government website carried a message for protesters from Anonymous, which read: "The world stands with you against the brutal regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Know that time and history are on your side - tyrants use violence because they have nothing else, and the more violent they are, the more fragile they become."
The statement also said of the Syrian army: "You are responsible for protecting the Syrian people, and anyone who orders you to kill women, children, and the elderly deserves to be tried for treason."
The brutal crackdown by Assad's government has caused over 2,000 deaths since protests against the regime began over four months ago.
The loose band of internet hackers known as Anonymous have participated since the start of Arab Spring anti-government protests, attacking government websites in Tunisia, the website of the National Democratic Party then-led by deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's personal web page.
The group also threatened to attack the Knesset website in June of this year, but that cyber strike never materialized.