Security News > 2008 > November > Cyber-warfare comes to Mauritania

http://www.menassat.com/?q=en/news-articles/5134-cyber-warfare-comes-mauritania By MOHAMMED SALEM MENASSAT November 12, 2008 NOUAKCHOTT – The Sahara Media news agency, considered the first news site in Mauritania, was the latest victim in a series of deliberate attacks on the country's websites. After two previous failed attempts, the latest attacks were enough to disrupt the website for two days at least, which forced the management to change the site's domain name. In a statement to its readers, Sahara Media described the attack as "very dangerous and possibly be the start of an open war on free media in the country." The hacking of the website came two days after a similar attack on the al-Anba' al-Ikhbari website, which was launched at the beginning of the latest political crisis in Mauritania. On August 6, 2008, Mauritania's democratically elected president, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, was ousted in a military coup. The country has been ruled by a military junta ever since. Sahara Media has accused "national and foreign parties" of aiming to muzzle the site. Al-Anba', for its part, was far more specific in assigning blame. It said "some parties in the military regime in Nouakchott" are responsible for the sabotage. [...]

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