Algerians and Moroccans Use Cyber Attacks to Settle their Political Feuds
The North Africa Journal | In the evening of November 8, 2011, nearly 200 Moroccan companies and other institutions were the targets of cyber attacks. The exact figure was not confirmed but the event led to the defacing of corporate and institutional websites, making them virtually useless for a short while. What was interesting in this wave of websites defacing was the widespread sentiment that the authors of the attacks were from Algeria. What’s also interesting was the fact that Algerian sites were also the targets of attacks earlier, in the morning of Tuesday and so the cyber attacks against Morocco were of a retaliatory nature. Among the Algerian institutions that faced a cyber attack early Tuesday was the Algerian Tax Department (Direction Générale des Impôts or DGI).
The alleged Moroccan hackers posted messages of political nature, including expressions such as “Western Sahara is Moroccan even if the Algerians don’t like it,” or “God, Nation and King.” The defacement of Algerian sites came in form of pictures of Moroccan symbols of government and royal institutions. A Moroccan hacker group called “Triple Hack” is said to have changed the visual identity of its Algerian targets using a large Moroccan map on a black background. The map included a green star in the middle.
The alleged Moroccan intrusion into the Algerian cyber world occurred two days after King Mohammed VI of Morocco gave a speech to celebrate the “Green March.” Thirty six years ago, on November 6, 1975, Morocco launched a nation-wide march toward the Western Sahara to confirm its ownership of the disputed territory. The feud among the various stakeholders in this conflict continues to this day. Continue here | Click here to subscribe
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