[ISN] Hacker offers to shut Putin's website

[InfoSec News]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,2763,1237083,00.html

Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow
June 12, 2004
The Guardian 

In the spirit of the free market computer hackers in Russia have put
their services up for sale, offering to "take out" any website for a
price.

Several hackers have posted a menu of services on the internet. The
most popular is a Direct Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, in which a
website and server can be disabled by being bombarded with emails and
other information.

These tactics have been used against large software companies such as
Microsoft, disliked by some hackers for its monopoly on software. The
MyDoom.B virus was used to try to shut down the website Microsoft.com
through a DDoS attack earlier this year.

The hackers' services were easily found by the Guardian.

One, forum.carderplanet.cc, carries a request from a user called jm
electron, who seeks "people who can do quite powerful DDoS attacks".  
TomCat replies that he is able to assist.

The Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday that one hacker, Masha,
offered to shut down any website for six hours for $60 (£33). The
official website of President Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru, could be
shut down for a week for $2,000, said Masha.