Anonymous targets Israeli Web sites in protest over Gaza

Anonymous is in the midst of a hacking campaign against a number of Israeli sites in protest of attacks taking place on Gaza.

The hacking spree, dubbed OpIsrael and begun early Thursday, has resulted in so many Israeli Web sites being defaced or shut down through methods including denial of service (DoS) attacks, that it's hard to keep count. However, some enterprising hacktivists have begun compiling lists of affected Web sites. Targets have included governmental, retail, and business sites -- some belonging to the automotive and fashion industries.

The Bank of Jerusalem, one of Israel's largest financial institutions, has received particular attention from the hacktivists -- as the cyberattackers crowed on Twitter about deleting the organization's online database. Access to the bank's Web site has been spotty. Trying to access it yesterday afternoon resulted in nothing more than a database error, and though the site reappeared, it seemed to be offline again this morning.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site also appeared on Friday to have been attacked and its database either deleted or tampered with. The Web site seemed to be back up and running this morning.

According to the latest list from Anonymous, 663 sites have been affected.

Some of the file dumps contain what look to be the full names, e-mail addresses, and passwords of Web site users, stolen from breached databases.

A press release from Anonymous says that when the government of Israel publicly threatened to sever all Internet and other telecommunications into and out of Gaza, "they crossed a line in the sand." The statement continues: "As the former dictator of Egypt Mubarack 

View the Original article

Regulator targets online shopping

The OFT said online shopping technology is evolving quickly Continue reading the main storyRelated StoriesFears of 'web snooping database'The 'big data' revolution Listen UK regulators have begun seeking information on how firms may be monitoring online shoppers in order to target them with different prices.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will consider how consumer data is collected and if any activities could be illegal.

The OFT said it wanted to gather more information in order to assess if the area needs investigating.

OFT chief executive Clive Maxwell said the ways in which data is collected and used was evolving rapidly.

"It is important we understand what control shoppers have over their profile and whether firms are using shoppers' profiles to charge different prices for goods or services," he said.

The OFT said it wanted to hear from any interested parties, including online retailers and software providers, and would publish its findings in spring 2013.

It will be consulting with international regulators, including the US Federal Trade Commission, on commercial uses of consumer data.

Businesses have sophisticated technology to monitor online behaviour, collect information about shopping habits and websites visited, and the services consumers have looked at.

Internet shopping is one of the retail sector's few growth areas, with the Office for National Statistics reporting on Thursday that online sales were 11% higher in October than a year earlier.

The OFT said it wanted to consider whether consumers understood and were aware of how their information was used when they go online, and whether some firms' activities were illegal.

Mr Maxwell said: "Innovation online is an important driver of economic growth. Our call for information forms part of our ongoing commitment to build trust in online shopping so that consumers can be confident that businesses are treating them fairly.

"We know that businesses use information about individual consumers for marketing purposes. This has some important potential benefits to consumers and firms. But the ways in which data is collected and used is evolving rapidly."

View the Original article