Hackers attack Anti- War list…

I am writing this because yesterday (19/1/02) I got quite a few alarming e-mails sent to me by many people who had written their names on a public, online ‘Stop The War’ petition. I had also contributed my own name to the web site as an act of solidarity against the extreme, irresponsible and backward single-minded violence that has been imposed via right wing religious, corporate and governments’ with their typical and not unusual contempt towards humanities lives globally.

Examples

Since about 7am this morning I have been bombarded by e-mails from total
strangers somehow under the illusion that I am sending them pornography. It
seems clear from reading that some other people are having the same experience
that the Stop the War mailing list has been hacked and my address (amongst
others) somehow used to generate the impression that I am responsible. I wish
to make it clear to everyone that has e-mailed me that I abhor this act and
that it has been done entirely without my knowledge or consent. In the
meantime, I would be grateful to stop the War if you could remove me
permanently from your mailing list.

Apologies if this appears everywhere, but it appears that this list may have
been hacked. Could the moderator/operator of this list please contact me for
details.

I am concerned that you are connected with a pornography site, which has just e-mailed me. Are you aware of this?

I have received notification of a porn site by e-mail today. Your organization is
mentioned at the top. What’s more, I have received an e-mail from a lady saying she
has also received this - - and she seems to think that I sent it.

I think someone has hacked into your e-mail list - - this is most worrying. Please
look into it-- if there are any recriminations against me, I shall be taking legal
action against you

The Owner of the list responded with:

The Stop the War coalition has heard that a number of people who had added their name to the STW announcement email list, from our web site, received a pornographic SPAM email this morning.

SPAM mail is unsolicited advertising sent to large numbers of email addresses.

The emails sent may appear to have been sent by other members of the list, but they have NOT been;
so please do NOT email the senders of the emails.

Following the original spam email, a number of people responded or tried to unsubscribe by clicking a link on the email. This caused their messages to be copied to everyone else on the list - including you.

Therefore, If you have received email complaints about this problem from other individuals, they have responded to you in error, they are NOT directed at you, so please do not respond to them.

The above is a very small example of what happened. Everyone who was afraid of being affiliated to pornography and not aware that hacking activities had created the confusion, e-mailed others who they thought were to blame, this made it worse. Many individuals on the list had received the spams in their working environments and many institutions. This of course threatens peoples’ positions at work, creating the illusion that they are into pornography to other workers and their bosses.

Whether this was a tactic by right wing hackers or just some porn merchants trying to gain new customers in a negative way. It begs the question that who can one trust when even our own governments are turning against their own people, whilst actively seeking out terrorists? In America FBI drones have already begun visiting art galleries that are exhibiting material that does not fit into Bush’s limited remit. And threatening many people just because they think different and taking away their civil rights through such small-minded actions.

It is now obvious that no one is allowed to think contrary to their governments’ own politics or actions. The media is increasingly ignoring everyday people’s needs for clarity and support in such situations. In fact the editors have sacked many freethinking and well-meaning journalists since the bombings on Afghanistan. The new McCarthyism has well and truly settled into America now, and as the wimps and the mob deny the reality by either staying silent or conforming to the lie, whilst letting others who are the real heroes, getting threatened by despotic actions. It will carry on regardless, due to many artists and not standing up to be counted against such illegal motions by uncaring governments. I find it very surprising how quiet ‘so called’ radical artists are at present in view of the stuff that is going on in their own land. Wake up! Before your voice is also muffled just for being who you are…

History will see this as a dark age if we survive and it will not forgive those who have not bothered to help others who are presently being attacked by such bigoted and soulless entities.

marc garrett

http://www.furtherfield.org