By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON
Hackers vowed to continue Monday the cyber attacks that over the weekend temporarily shut down the websites of the Canadian Parliament, Supreme Court and Toronto and Ottawa police.
“This is not the end,” a group purporting to be the vigilante hacking group Anonymous said in a statement Sunday, as reported by media. “In fact, we are just starting.”
Toronto police confirmed that the Toronto Police Service’s website went dead for about an hour Sunday but refused further comment. The city is the fourth largest in North America with a population of about 2.8 million.
The City of Ottawa’s website is operative and the Supreme Court of Canada says Anonymous did not access any of its systems because the Court went offline during the weekend. Ottawa’s police website is still not working, all according to the Ottawa Citizen.
The hackers said the attacks were to show support for an Ottawa teen accused in May of calling in fake emergencies in various cities throughout North America, causing some police departments to activate SWAT teams. The activity is called “swatting” and the hackers believe the teen was framed.
“We will not rest, we will not stop, until the police admit their mistake and drop all charges against the innocent youth,” the statement by the hackers continued.
Friday, the name of the officer investigating the teen appeared online for about an hour after the City of Ottawa’s website was hacked.
All the websites except the Ottawa police force were back up and running Monday morning.
A Twitter account under the name @AerithTOR claimed responsibility for the attacks. The person claims ties to Anonymous,
Under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, the suspected teen in the swatting incidents is too young to be identified but his father said Sunday his son is innocent.
He held a news conference in Ottawa Sunday and displayed what he called two “bugs” planted in light bulbs in his home.
He said the hackers told him that “audio signals” were emanating from the home and that he should check the light bulbs. He did and discovered the listening devices.
An Ottawa newspaper asked the father by phone if a reporter could speak with the teen. A tweet immediately followed that read, “Just got word that the youth might be speaking to media in the coming days.”
www.aa.com.tr/en
