WikiLeaks supporters hack PBS, post fake news story

[News_Editor]

WikiLeaks supporters hack PBS, post fake news story

2011-05-31 06:09:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Outraged by a recent PBS documentary regarding WikiLeaks, a group calling themselves LulzSec hacked into the broadcaster's servers on Sunday, posting a fake news story to their website and publishing internal login information.

News of the attack first emerged on late Sunday evening when a fake news story titled "Tupac still alive in New Zealand" appeared on the PBS website. Rapper Tupac Shakur died in September 1996 after he was shot several times in Las Vegas.

"Prominent rapper Tupac has been found alive and well in a small resort in New Zealand, locals report," the fake news story on PBS' website read. "The small town - unnamed due to security risks - allegedly housed Tupac and Biggie Smalls (another rapper) for several years."

The publication of the story immediately sparked discussion online, but PBS soon confirmed that its website had been the victim of a cyber attack. It took several hours before the story was removed from the website.

The hacker attack was claimed by a group calling itself LulzSec and was in response to PBS' documentary regarding WikiLeaks. "Greetings, Internets. We just finished watching WikiSecrets and were less than impressed," LulzSec said in a statement. "We decided to sail our Lulz Boat over to the PBS servers for further... perusing."

PBS said no viewer information had been compromised. "We see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act. We have been very open to publishing criticism of the film, and the film itself included multiple points of view," said PBS-Frontline executive producer Davind Fanning. "Rather than engaging in that spirit, this is an attempt to chill independent journalism."

But the fake news article was not all the damage done by LulzSec. Along with their statement, the group also published scores of employee logins and passwords and posted e-mail addresses, usernames, and passwords of members of other media organizations who were registered on PBS' press website.

The outrage against PBS began last week when PBS-Frontline aired a documentary called "WikiSecrets." The documentary explored the life of Bradley Manning, who is accused of providing secret U.S. cables to WikiLeaks. It also included interviews with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Manning's father, and figures such as Adrian Lamo who reported Manning to the Pentagon.

Even before the documentary aired, WikiLeaks had shown it was upset with how the movie was edited. "WikiLeaks has had intelligence for some time that the program is hostile and misrepresents WikiLeaks' views and tries to build an "espionage" case against its founder, Julian Assange, and also the young soldier, Bradley Manning," WikiLeaks said on its website before the documentary aired.

Because the anti-secrecy group felt the PBS documentary was out of context, WikiLeaks decided to publish the full 55-minute behind-the-scenes footage of PBS' interview with Assange.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-31

[geriatrickid]

Interesting that the Assange cult gets so angry when someone reveals the motivations and callous indifference of Julian.

PBS Frontline is a well regarded news source and has exposed some horrible events in its day. PBS is often accused of being too "leftist", although I hardly think This Old House, Antiques Road Show or replays of classic BBC comedies can be considered leftist, The Asssange cult attack of an honourable institution like PBS speaks volumes.

Edited May 31, 2011 by geriatrickid

[Ulysses G.]

An interesting documentary.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1946795242/

[samurai]

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                        //Laughing at your security since 2011!

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    Greetings, Internets. We just finished watching WikiSecrets
    and were less than impressed. We decided to sail our Lulz Boat
    over to the PBS servers for further... perusing. As you should 
    know by now, not even that fancy-ass fortress from the third shitty 
    Pirates of the Caribbean movie (first one was better!) can withhold our 
    barrage of chaos and lulz. Anyway, unnecessary sequels aside... wait, actually:
    second and third Matrix movies sucked too! Anyway, say hello to the insides
    of the PBS servers, folks. They best watch where they're sailing next time.

http://pastebin.com/B3gmw5NS

http://boingboing.net/2011/05/29/pbs-hacked-in-retrib.html

[luckizuchinni]

Interesting that the Assange cult gets so angry when someone reveals the motivations and callous indifference of Julian.

PBS Frontline is a well regarded news source and has exposed some horrible events in its day. PBS is often accused of being too "leftist", although I hardly think This Old House, Antiques Road Show or replays of classic BBC comedies can be considered leftist, The Asssange cult attack of an honourable institution like PBS speaks volumes.

Yes, when the shoe is on the other foot, Wiki-supporters get outraged? Hmm.

[homeslice]

The reak story.

Yet unidentified intelligence agency posing as rogue hacker group LulzSec breaches wikileaks website with fake story, to discredit wikileaks, which was an intelligence operation to garner sympathy (and funding) for intelligence agencies. There are other sites that have been around for a long time doing the same thing wikileaks has done.

On a side note. TuPac Shakur was the product of a Black Panther family, knew too much, had a platform, was too vocal and was killed under the Cointel Program, just like MLK. TuPac Shukur was an unequaled musical talent and a gifted intellectual. I wish he was alive. RIP