Why Have Hackers Hit Russia's Most Popular Blogging Service?

[lsanderson]

If the hacker attacks that hit Russia's top blogging service, LiveJournal, this week are anything to go by, the unwritten rules of cyber warfare no longer apply. Instead of the focused assaults hackers often used to force down the websites of their ideological enemies, these attacks look more like online carpet bombing. Their victim is not one voice but the entire cacophonous world of the Russian blogosphere. And the motive, as close as experts have been able to figure, is to erode the virtual infrastructure of free speech itself.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2063952,00.html#ixzz1TUPEOj2y

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[magscanner.livejournal.com]

Here's the chill feature:

"In the lead-up to Russia's parliamentary elections in December, and the crucial presidential vote next March, Litvinovich of BestToday.ru expects the attacks will continue. "The goal here is to discredit LiveJournal, which had introduced a wild card into the political system," she says. "It had become a real instrument of influencing public opinion, and it was not under anyone's control." So whether or not any government officials are behind the attack, some of them are likely relieved to have a break from LiveJournal politics."

Many more months, eh.