Malaysia has been on its toes after receiving threats of a cyberattack from Internet hacktivist group Anonymous in retaliation for government acts of censorship, according to the Malaysian police chief.
The attack, code-named Operation Malaysia, will target the Malaysian government’s online portal from 0730 GMT in protest against the country’s censorship of whistle-blower site Wikileaks, and several file-sharing websites. Anonymous labels the move a denial of basic human rights.
Anonymous declared in a pastebin.com posting:
“The Internet is here for freedom, without fear of government interference. We fear that if you make further decisions to take away human freedom. We are obligated to act fast and have no mercy.”
In response, Malaysian police chief Ismail Omar told Reuters:
“We have received word of this threat. There are many agencies involved in this and we will get to the bottom of this. Investigation needs to be done and we need to protect our systems at the same time.”
Malaysia, which faces political challenges for tightly controlling mainstream media, could be the latest in a cyber-war waged by the activists, who has also targeted websites in Syria, Tunisia, Egypt and India.
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