BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/10/2005

Hackers shut down Belarus police web site

Hackers temporarily shut down the website for Belarus' national police, the Interfax news agency reported.

It was the first ever successful computer hacker attack against Belarus' Ministry of Internal Affairs (BMIA), the top government agency in the authoritarian former Soviet republic for law enforcement.

The cyber break-in halted operations of the MBIA's main Internet portal for for more than two hours, before the site was brought back on lines, the report said.

Police were investigating a variety of leads, but suspected the attack was linked to opposition groups of President Alekander Lukashenko, who runs the country almost single-handedly.

The Lukashenko government represses dissent and has identified the Internet as a favourite means for opposition groups to attack authoritities.

Rapid transfer of information over the Internet was an important factor in neighbouring Ukraine's recent Orange Revolution, when authorities attempted to control news reports over election fraud, but failed to do so against an Internet-using opposition.

Lukashenko is scheduled to run for re-election in Belarus in October. He has promised he will win the race, and that public disturbances similar to Ukraine's Orange Revolution "will not happen here". (dpa)

Source:

http://www.financialmirror.com/more_news.php?id=2129