'This is just the beginning': Hacking group Anonymous takes over Greek Ministry of Justice website and warns other Governments are in its sights



Computer hacking group Anonymous has launched a cyber-attack on the Greek Ministry of Justice website, and warned of plans to target a further 300 ministry and media sites.

The hack was apparently a protest against the Greek government's signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which is designed to reduce internet piracy.

It is the latest in a series of attacks by the self-styled 'hacktivist' group, which has unleashed havoc on several European governments during the past month, and targeted America's Justice Department in retaliation for the closure of file-sharing website Megaupload.



Hacked: Internet activists Anonymous took over the website of the Greek Ministry of Justice, warning of their plans to attack other ministries and media sites

Under Anonymous control: This snapshot shows the hacked ministry website. The group called for the Greek Government to retract support for an anti-piracy treaty, and condemned its preparations for an IMF bail-out

In a message left on the Greek Justice Ministry's website, the group threatened to take down 'all the media in Greece' unless the Greek government retracts its support for the global treaty, which Britain has also signed.

The website was briefly listed as 'under construction' following the attack, but was amended to display the following message from the online collective:

'We know EVERYTHING, We have your PASSWORDS , We are watching YOU.

NEXT TARGET WILL BE ALL THE MEDIA IN GREECE. ( ertTV , etc )

WE HAVE MOST OF THE MEDIA WEBSITES ADMIN PASSWORDS.

We are Legion . This is JUST the BEGINING.

www.ministryofjustice.gr is just an example of what we are capable of!

You have 2 weeks to stop ACTA in Greece otherwhise we will do CYBERWARFARE by defacing 300 sites and all the media and ministries.'

Greek police said via Twitter that their cyber-crime division had already begun an investigation into the Ministry of Justice attack.



Anonymous stepped up its activities prior to and after the signing of the ACTA treaty, rendering several Polish government websites unreachable for days.



In the Czech Republic, a local group aligning itself with Anonymous attacked the website of an organisation which supports ACTA. The group collects money for music production and distributes it to artists.



After taking over the Greek Ministry of Justice website, the hackers released a video claiming that Greece's decision to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will 'introduce a new dictatorship upon your people’s shoulders and allowed the bankers and the monarchs of the EU to enslave them both economically and politically.'

Greece is expected to accept funding from the IMF in a bid to shore up its stricken economy and help the government restructure its finances.

The ACTA treaty, the controversial deal which sparked the hack, was signed by 22 European Union states in Tokyo on 26 January.

It is a voluntary agreement intended to obstruct counterfeiting of both physical goods and online property, but was widely condemned by critics who believe it will lead to internet censorship.

Under the deal, internet users may receive warnings and be blacklisted from internet service providers if they are found to have shared files illegally.