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hacker holy wars
by Cletus Nelson (cletus@disinfo.net) - December 19, 2000

QuickFire. EvilPing. WinSmurf. Melissa. CIH. Loveletter.
These are the primary weapons of war in a brewing conflict that is transforming the Internet into an electronic battleground. As hostilities escalate in the Middle East, pro-Israeli activists are fighting a rear-guard action against a pan-Arab confederation of hackers determined to unleash an "e-jihad" against the Jewish homeland.

The sheer intensity of the Muslim assault is staggering. According to idefense, a security firm tracking the unfolding cyber-battle, some 90 security breaches are being attributed to Islamic hackers. These attacks include "denial of service attacks, attempts to gain root access, system penetrations, defacements and a variety of other attacks" (press release, November 21st, 2000). These high-profile hits include Web sites for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Bank of Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and others.

When a small cadre of Israeli loyalists set up a Web site, in early October 2000, to conduct a pre-emptive propaganda strike against the Web pages of Hizbollah and other pro-Palestinian groups, they ignited a cyber-intifada.

After an effective bombardment shut down six sites including Hamas.org, a furious Arab counterattack sent several Israeli government sites offline. Two months later, the campaign reached global proportions, with supporters aligned on both sides mounting attacks from Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Brazil, the U.K., the U.S. and other locales.

Spearheading the pro-Palestinian offensive are opposition groups such as Gforce Pakistan, Xegypt, and Unity. The latter, which enjoy ties with the hard line Hizbollah faction, are vowing to escalate their harassment of Israeli sites by launching a multifaceted "cyberjihad" designed to paralyze the Jewish state's internal operations and online economy by repeatedly targeting government, telecommunications and e-commerce sites.

Stepping into the breach to defend their beloved homeland are the Internet Israeli Underground (IIU) which stands "united to protect Israel on the Internet against any kind of attack from vicious hacking groups." The nationalistic hackers will certainly face a formidable opposition. Web sites are going up across the net in order to provide easily accessible attack tools to the hard-charging Islamic forces. EvilPing, which launches a "ping of death" attack capable of quickly shutting down a system and "QuickFire," capable of sending 32,000 e-mails to a selected target are but two examples of the devastating arsenal wielded by Palestine sympathizers.

IIU spokesmen told Wired magazine reporter Carmen Gentile that the unrelenting attacks have become so prevalent, they may have caused an 8% drop in the Israeli Stock Exchange.

Amidst the chaos of this brewing conflict, Western observers fear that America will soon become embroiled in this volatile dispute. When the Web site for New Jersey-based Lucent Technology came under attack, in November 2000, allegedly in retaliation for the security firm's business dealings Israel, these fears came close to being realized. Ben Venzke, Director of Intelligence Production for idefense was quick to point out the significance of this portentous development.

"There could be other organizations hit here in the US but this is the first US corporation named directly on target lists being circulated by pro-Palestinian hacker groups I've seen so far," he remarked to Erica Luening of CNET (November 2nd, 2000). This could be disastrous in light of a disconcerting Computer World article which deems the nation's security precautions are woefully "inadequate" (November 13th, 2000).

As security experts prepare for a wave of possible attacks, we may be glimpsing the future of postmodern warfare. Perhaps entire battles will be decided within the limitless realm of cyberspace with skilled hackers jamming communications, shutting down power grids and freezing bank accounts. Although the Internet is frequently lauded as a unifying medium capable of bringing us closer together, this online religious war exemplifies its malign potential.

Israeli Hackers Vow To Defend
In this Wired article (November 15th, 2000), reporter Carmen Gentile discusses the Israeli reaction to the growing cyber-intifada. This article also explores the mobilized IIU, Israel's primary hacking group. "Dodi," a Muslim hacker who is threatening to shut down NetVision--Israel's primary Internet Service Provider, is specifically mentioned.

Palestinian Crackers Share Bugs
In this Wired article (December 2nd, 2000), reporter Carmen Gentile examines the dissemination of attack tools and viruses by Arab forces. Gentile contends that these tools are the strategic key to the Arab force's continued dominance in this silent war.

Hacker War Rages in Holy Land
In this Wired story (November 8th, 2000), Carmen Gentile outlines the opposing factions in this bitter struggle and the four-phased "cyber-jihad" proclaimed by UNITY and its allies. "Their weapon of choice, the laptop, is easily available, and the ammunition, virues and hacking programs, is free on the Internet," comments idefense CEO James Adams.

Middle East Cyber-Conflict Update
This press statement, issued in mid-November 2000 and disseminated by idefense, provides some tactical and logistical insights into this developing battle.

Information Warfare: The Perfect Terrorist Weapon
In a rather prescient monograph discussing the use of computer technology by terrorist groups, Yael Shahar of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism foretells the use of computer viruses by Hizbollah and other groups.

Lucent Says Mid-East Hackers Attacked Web Site
When the Web site for New Jersey-based Lucent Technology was hit by pro-Palestinian hackers, the bold attack sent shudders through US business circles. CNET writer Erich Luening reports (November 2nd, 2000) that the FBI and other agencies are convinced that with each passing day, a greater number of firms with business ties to Israel may fall victim to Arab hacking efforts.

Arabs Unify in 'Cyber-War' Against Israel
Posted prominently on the Hizbollah web page, this Daily Star article (October, 2000) by Ranwa Yehia provides coverage of the cyber-campaign interception from an Arab perspective. "If we continue like this, we should arrive at a time when an Israeli Web site is crippled ever hour. This is our new battle," remarks an anonymous hacker.

Pro-Palestinian Attack Site
The following site which now includes a brief rant against Zionists, was originally a repository of attack tools, viruses and Floodnet programs for Arab hackers.

DoD May Have Waged First Cyberwar In Serbia
This Federal Computer Week article (September 23rd, 2000) by Bob Brewin suggests that the Department of Defense are no less determined to use Information Operations (IO) as a weapon of war. DoD hackers directly attacked Serbia�s on-line command and control operations.

U.S. May Face Net Based Holy War
This Computer World article (November 13th, 2000) speculates that this on-line conflagration may soon spill over onto American shores. According to a security audit cited in the article, 97% of American businesses lack the ability to fend off a cyber-attack of this magnitude.

Islamic Resistance Support Association
Web sites such as this one, that promote the Palestinian position are frequently targeted by Israeli hackers either in retribution for anti-Israeli hacks or to further propaganda interests online.

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