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Hackers target Myanmar government websites in coup protest
YANGON, Feb 18, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Hackers attacked military-run government
websites in Myanmar Thursday as a cyber war erupted after authorities shut
down the internet for a fourth straight night.
A group called Myanmar Hackers disrupted multiple government websites
including the Central Bank, Myanmar Military’s propaganda page, state-run
broadcaster MRTV, the Port Authority, Food and Drug Administration.
The move comes a day after thousands of people rallied across the country
to protest against a military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian
government from power earlier this month.
“We are fighting for justice in Myanmar,” the hacking group said on its
Facebook page.
“It is like mass protesting of people in front of government websites.”
Cybersecurity expert Matt Warren from Australia’s RMIT University said it
was likely the aim of the hacking was to generate publicity.
“The sorts of attacks they would be undertaking are denial of service
attacks or defacing websites which is called hacktivism,” he told AFP.
“The impact will be potentially limited but what they are doing is raising
awareness.”
Another internet shutdown began in Myanmar at about 1:00 am on Thursday
(1830 GMT Wednesday), according to NetBlocks, a Britain-based group that
monitors internet outages around the world.
It said internet connectivity had dropped to just 21 percent of ordinary
levels.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0815 hrs