- Joined
- Oct 5, 2012
- Messages
- 315
- Points
- 0
Updated: 11/12/2013 14:17 | By Channel NewsAsia
5 men assisting investigations in hacking of PMO, Istana websites
SINGAPORE: Police said five Singaporeans aged between 17 and 45 are currently assisting in investigations relating to the alleged hacking of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Istana websites.
In a statement on Tuesday, police said they received reports on the hacking incidents on November 8.
They said their investigations revealed that culprits had exploited a vulnerability in the websites to display pages from other sources.
Police also established the identity of the five suspects.
Channel NewsAsia understands that the two suspects who allegedly hacked into the Istana website got to know each other via Facebook.
One is a 17-year-old ITE student and the other is a 45-year-old IT consultant.
It is believed that the three who hacked into the PMO website are related -- two are brothers and the third is their brother-in-law.
They are said to have hacked the websites through cross-site scripting, a common hacking technique that creates the illusion that a website has been compromised.
Police said the incidents at the two websites are not related to each other.
The two cases are also not related to the hacking of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website, or the vandalism on November 5.
Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said acts that disrupt, deface or interfere with information communications and technology (ICT) systems are illegal and constitute an offence.
In comments issued on Tuesday afternoon, a ministry spokesperson said: "Such acts can compromise the operation of critical services, cause alarm, damage and harm, and have serious security, economic and social consequences for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
"Those found to have carried out such criminal acts, made threats or incited others to attack our ICT systems will be taken to task in accordance with the law," said the MHA spokesperson. - CNA/nd/gn
