LulzSec Hacks Senate Server, Asks Rhetorically "Is This An Act Of War, Gentlemen?"

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/lulzsec-hacks-senate-server-asks-rhetorically-act-war-gentlemen

After a major hack of the IMF's website http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/world/12imf.html?_r=3 over the weekend promptly scrambled the FBI, just as Operation Empire State Rebellion announced http://www.zerohedge.com/article/ctrlaltbernanke-operation-empire-state-rebellion-resumes-attack-fed-chairman it was taking its attack of the Fed Chairman to the next level (we have yet to see anything here more than just rhetoric), today, the competing hacker group, the one implicated in numerous Sony breakins as well as a recent defacing of an FBI-affiliate, LulzSec, http://www.zerohedge.com/article/pbs-hacker-lulzsec-takes-archnemesis-fbi-defaces-fbi-affiliate-website has proven it broke into the Senate's SPARC server and exposed everything that admin chris_vontz@saa.senate.gov apparently was unable to hid sufficiently well. On its website, LulzSecurity left the following preface to the several hundred thousand code-long data dump of everything located in the Senate server: "We don't like the US government very much. Their boats are weak, their lulz are low, and their sites aren't very secure. In an attempt to help them fix their issues, we've decided to donate additional lulz in the form of owning them some more! This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov - is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem? - Lulz Security."

And what is completely not surprising, following a Dow Jones inquiry, "a Senate representative said she was unaware of any breach of the body's web site." Well it has been breached- anyone curious what is contained in the server can do so here. http://lulzsecurity.com/releases/senate.gov.txt

A cursory investigation does not reveal the exposition of any sensitive data.... This time. Yet one thing LulzSec most certainly acquired was the user/pass combinations of all individuals affiliated with the Senate, and are likely currently actively downloading all their emails. We continue to wonder just how safe the Fed's email server is...

The hacking of the Senate appears to have been a "bonus round" to what LulzSec was actually targetting, which seems to have been Bethesda Softworks. Below is how the hacker group describes their action:

snip

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LINKS:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6467131/Bethesda_internal_data

:wow:

They are so screwed when and if they get caught.

Or, is this some sort of "Red Team" exercise, or worse an effort to stampede the good Senators into passing some sort of ever-more draconian anti-hacking law?

They tend to be more "hey, we hacked in, here's how we did it, FIX THIS" type hackers.

Frankly, US Senate IT security types should be offering jobs to the hackers who did this.

My understanding is that a lot of ethical hackers end up getting hired by the USG.

Just trying to make the server more secure

Perhaps we need to gather the troops around the server to keep out the terrorists.............

The OP sounds a bit snarky with its "yet to see anything here more than just rhetoric" -- but that one is part of a larger set of protests that are scheduled for July 14.

http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1-/8960-operation-empire-state-rebellion-begins-activists-to-occupy-financial-districts-liberty-park-.html

Operation Empire State Rebellion Begins: Activists to Occupy Financial District’s Liberty Park

On June 14th at 1pm EST, a group of activists will begin occupation of Liberty Park (recently renamed Zuccotti Park) in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, a few blocks from Wall Street (14971 Broadway, 10007).

A Google Map featuring the event states the following:

“This Flag Day, Tuesday June 14th, we will launch a non-violent movement with this list of demands:

* End the campaign finance and lobbying racket
* Break up the Fed & Too Big to Fail banks
* Enforce RICO laws against organized criminal class
* Order Ben Bernanke to step down” . . .

As one of the forces behind this movement, Anonymous has just released a new video announcing the launch of Operation Empire State Rebellion, which calls for the resignation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. They have also called for public protests beginning on June 14th, continuing “until Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke steps down.” To make their case, they have presented a list of recent scandalous Federal Reserve actions.