[ISN] Hacker posts image on Foreign Office website

[InfoSec News]

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2005/12/06/213289/HackerpostsimageonForeignOfficewebsite.htm

By Bill Goodwin
6 December 2005

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office website was defaced by a hacker last
week, raising questions about the department's security procedures.

The hacker, using the alias Shadow Moon, bypassed the department's
firewalls to post a picture of a space alien on the website
http://forms.fco.gov.uk in the early hours of Monday morning.

The hacker is believed to have exploited vulnerabilities either in the
Windows 2000 operating system or in applications running on the site.

Web defacement was common three years ago, but today it is unusual for
high-profile websites to leave themselves open, said Phil Robinson,
technical director at security firm IRM.

"The government has got very capable security policies in place, led
by its Computer Electronic Security Group. There is not really an
excuse for falling prey to these attacks," he said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said an auxiliary server had been defaced
by the hacker, but the image was swiftly removed. "It did not affect
service to the public or in any way endanger government information,"  
he said.