Government to increase internet security

Government to increase internet security

Category

Internet Security

Following an internet hacking incident in March the government will temporarily shut down its portal today to increase security.

On March 2 the Macau Daily Times reported the hacking of the government directory site, linked to the main portal, www.gov.mo.

For at least four hours on March 1 the page which usually lists department and agency contact details instead showed an emblem of a rose and crescent moon with the inscription "We Love Mohammed".

The black page included the text: "Hacked by a13M, The Freedom Warriors" and "Greetz (greetings)" to a series of names which according to a number of internet sites also have a history of hacking.

The hacker signed the page with the email address a13m@bsdmail.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it.

After the attack the government said increasing the security of its computing system would be a “top priority”.

“In order to improve the performance and enhance the security of the Government Portal, system optimisation will be carried out in the computer centre of the Public Administration and Civil Services this coming Saturday (June 7),” the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau said in a press release during the week.

The government portal www.gov.mo will be unavailable between 9am to 1pm.
“We believe that the portal will be more stable and reliable in consequence of the optimisation,” the statement said.

Following the attack the bureau issued a statement saying there was no governmental information leaking or stolen as a result of the hacking.

Contacted by the MDT at the time of the attack, the information technology manager of the Macau Inter-University Institute (IIUM), Justin Wan Si-un, said confidential information which will be uploaded in the upcoming Legal Affairs Bureau real estate registry website could be at risk of being stolen if the government did not strengthen internet security.

http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content