Town's Website Hacked With Iranian Flag

The Sun-Sentinel reports that the image appeared last week and after the town was able to remove the image, it popped back up over the weekend. A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security said the agency hadn't reviewed the hacking incidents. This isn't the first time a U.S.-based website has been...

By Bob Norman

January 18, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
          "component": "18617832",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

The Sun-Sentinel reports that the image appeared last week and after the town was able to remove the image, it popped back up over the weekend. A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security said the agency hadn't reviewed the hacking incidents.

This isn't the first time a U.S.-based website has been hacked with an Iranian message. Inside see more.

Back in 2009, the Twitter site was hit by something calling itself the "Iranian Cyber Army." There was an apparent reason for that -- Twitter of course was used as key communications tool by the election protesters in Iran and the U.S. government helped make sure that social network was kept available to them.

Here's the message that was left by the hackers on the Twitter site:

Iranian Cyber Army

THIS SITE HAS BEEN HACKED BY IRANIAN CYBER ARMY

[email protected]

U.S.A. Think They Controlling And Managing Internet By Their Access, But THey Don't, We Control And Manage Internet By Our Power, So Do Not Try To Stimulation Iranian Peoples To....

NOW WHICH COUNTRY IN EMBARGO LIST? IRAN? USA?
WE PUSH THEM IN EMBARGO LIST ;)
Take Care.

This was supposedly the beginning of a cyber war between Iran and the United States. "In a web war, Iran has demonstrated that almost nobody is immune, the battlefield is level and it is not afraid to fire the first big shots in full view of the entire world," opined the website TechCrunch.

But Hillsboro Beach? We're talking about a town of under 2,500 people. It's a place where pub owners are elected to the commission and the biggest issue is how much sand they're going to put on the beach.

That might make you think this is the work of pranksters. Or is it practice shooting?

Journalist Bob Norman has been raking the muck of South Florida for the past 25 years. His work has led to criminal cases against corrupt politicians, the ouster of bad judges from the bench, and has garnered dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

A message from Editor-in-Chief Tom Finkel: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of essential stories and to investigate issues that matter.

Support Today