ARMENIA: WAVE OF HACKER ATTACKS BLAMED ON AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY
Marianna Grigoryan

Eurasia Insight
ticles/eav081909a.shtml
8/19/09

A surge in hacker attacks on several Armenian government and private
websites has prompted Armenian information technology experts to demand
that Armenia’s Internet security become a matter of state security.

Since the beginning of August, an estimated 100 attacks have been
leveled at servers hosting websites for the government, the Armenian
State Tax Service, the Diaspora Ministry and the webmail for the
Ministry of Economy. The attacks have reportedly intensified in the
past ten days. Websites for the Russian-owned VTB Bank, the Armenian
Football Federation and the mayor of Gyumri, a town in northwestern
Armenia near the Turkish border, have also been targeted.

Among other acts, hackers posted on the sites swear words in English,
the flags of Azerbaijan and Turkey, a map that shows the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbiajan, and photos of
victims from the 1988-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

A photo of Azerbaijani Lieutenant Ramil Safarov, who axed to death
an Armenian army officer during North Atlantic Treaty Organization
training exercises in 2004, was placed on the home pages of the State
Tax Service and the Diaspora Ministry.

"Attacks always occur, but this time they are unprecedented
and persistent," said information security consultant Samvel
Martirosian."The number of successful attacks is already alarming. It’s
clear that if the situation goes on like this, the whole of Armenia
might very soon become very vulnerable."

Information security experts blame Azerbaijani and Turkish hackers
for the attacks — a reflection of Armenia’s ongoing sour relations
with both countries.

In general, they say, attacks on Armenian government sites tend to pick
up pace around dates related to the 1988-1994 war with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, the April 24 commemoration of the 1915 mass slaughter
of ethnic Armenians in Turkey, or various political developments.

August, when most of Armenia is on vacation, is the considered the
"hottest" time for hacker attacks since websites are less tightly
monitored then, experts say. Last August, hackers took over the
websites for the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Sport and Youth
Affairs and the General Prosecutor’s Office, according to Ruben
Muradian, chief security officer at Yerevan’s Smart Tech company,
which specializes in IT security for banks.

One political analyst argues that the issue is a sign of flagging
Azerbaijani interest in talks with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"This is a confrontational attitude, a method of state propaganda
demonstrating that Azerbaijan is not ready for peace," asserted
Suren Surenyants, who is also a senior member of the opposition
Republican Party.

No attempt has been made to contact the governments of Turkey and
Azerbaijan, with which Armenia has no diplomatic relations, about
the attacks.

A representative of the National Security Service, however, maintains
that efforts have already been taken to defend government servers
from such attacks.

In late April 2009, the National Security Service set up a hub server
that has allegedly prevented "more than 10,000" hacker attacks in
the period, according to Artsvin Baghramian, director of the National
Security Service’s press center assures.

Baghramian termed the uproar over the August attacks just a "fuss."

"This is not an issue to be solved in a year," Baghramyan said. "We
have worked and found the weak spots for the attacked websites. Now
we are trying to increase the defenses and enlarge the hub [server]."

Nonetheless, IT specialists worry about what the attacks say about
Armenia’s level of Internet security.

"It’s not even important what they place [on the websites] . . . this
stuff will be deleted. Maybe someone will lose their job, maybe not,"
commented SmartTech’s Muradian. "What is important is our attitude
to security. Even one hijacked website is a big problem in terms of
information security. "

Expert Martirosian notes that cheap, poor-quality websites make the
level of IT security in Armenia extremely low. Owners do not perform
continuous site maintenance , and do not update security systems as
attack methods change.

President Sargsyan’s website — "under constant control" — is one
notable exception to this trend, he added.

"Security is continuous work . . ." commented Muradian. "Websites
will be hijacked until we start treating security as a process."

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance journalist based
in Yerevan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress