Turkish hackers unrelenting in DNS attacks
By Chris Taylor
05/09/2011
A Turkish hacking group has claimed responsibility for redirecting traffic from a handful of high profile websites including The Daily Telegraph, BetFair, Vodafone and computer manufacturer Acer.
The attack, which took place on Sunday night, saw many users taken to third-party sites that attempted to take login credentials such as usernames and passwords.
According to Computer Weekly, domain name systems (DNS) - a protocol that routes users to websites - were the focus of the attack.
Security experts are now warning users to clear their cookies, either manually or by using remote it support software, to circumvent the possibility of data theft if individuals have logged into these sites over the weekend.
"Instead of breaching the website itself, the hackers have managed to change the DNS records for the various sites affected," explained Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, in a blog post.
"If you're in the habit of visiting and logging into the affected sites, you might be wise to clear your cookies so the hackers aren't able to steal any information from you," Cluley wrote.
The hacking group, which has revealed itself to be Turk Guvenligi when speaking to The Guardian, also carried out a similar attack on a Korean company last month.
Arrogantly, the group scoffed to the paper in a private tweet, saying it had hacked the companies for "entertainment" purposes. It said: "Millions of dollars, large systems, small weaknesses and what I could do. Just for fun."
