[ISN] Dutch government takes legal action against DDoS attacker

[InfoSec News]

http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4170

By Joe Figueiredo
03/11/2004 

The Dutch government is to launch legal proceedings against a 
suspected hacker accused of recently disabling several government 
websites for four days through a series of distributed denial of 
service (DDoS) attacks, the ICTU - the government agency that oversees 
information and communication technology in the public sector - has 
reported. 

The suspect is an 18-year old youth, and a possible member of the 
"0x1fe Crew", a group of around 15 hackers protesting recent cabinet 
decisions. 

The youth, who, if found guilty, could face a stiff bill for damages 
amounting to tens of thousands of euros, apparently revealed his 
actions and personal details to a Dutch current affairs television 
programme, according to the ICTU, which had conducted an enquiry into 
the attacks. 

The ICTU has since introduced technical measures (including purchasing 
extra bandwidth from hosting provider ASP4all) to better deal with 
future cyber assaults on these websites. "We can take even further 
steps, but this would depend on what our 'clients' are willing to 
pay," said an ICTU spokesperson. 

Although the ICTU is only taking a civil action against the alleged 
hacker, the public prosecutor in the Hague is looking into bringing 
possible criminal charges. 

This follows a complaint in parliament against an earlier decision by 
the public prosecution service not to take any action against the 
alleged hackers, despite the police having known their identity.