Summary: After pledging to 'track down' hackers who target the country, Singapore's prime minister received a response from Anonymous late Thursday night when the hacktivist group breached his official website.
SINGAPORE--Following his threat to 'track down' hackers who target the country, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's official website was breached by hacktivist group Anonymous late Thursday night.
In a statement released early Friday morning, ICT regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said a 'subpage for search' on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) site was compromised but the main site was still functioning.
'A vulnerability in that subpage was exploited to display pages from other sources. This vulnerability is known as cross-site scripting,' IDA said. 'We will continue to strengthen all government websites. This includes the checking and fixing of vulnerabilities and software patching. While this is in progress, visitors to government websites may experience intermittent problems with access. This will be completed as soon as possible.'
It added that an 'investigation' into the incident was underway.
The affected page of the PMO website was defaced with a headline that read 'It's great to be Singaporean today' alongside an image of the now-infamous Guy Fawkes mask, representing Anonymous. The page also contained this statement text: 'PM Lee warns hackers: We will track you down--even if you think you're 'anonymous'.'
The affected section was taken down after someone posted about the incident on Facebook.
The breach comes after Lee had pledged to 'spare no effort' to 'track down' hackers who target Singapore's IT infrastructure. This was the first time he had responded to earlier threats by a hacker called 'The Messiah' and part of the Anonymous group, who posted a YouTube video in protest of the Singapore government's online media licensing rule.
Lee said online anonymity did not mean those responsible for cyberattacks should not be held accountable. 'You may think you're anonymous--we will make the extra effort to find out who you are,' he said. 'You may think you're anonymous--we will make the extra effort to find out who you are.'
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