ARMENIAN WEBSITES ATTACKED TURKISH HACKERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 16, 2010 – 13:12 AMT 08:12 GMT

Turkish hackers have attacked several Armenian websites ahead of
annual commemorative remembrances of the Armenian Genocide.

On April 12th, more than 250 sites were impacted when cyber terrorists
attacked a server hosting sites including ,
according to the owner of the sites (who wishes
to remain anonymous), ANCA Communications Director Elizabeth Chouljian
told PanARMENIAN.Net

The attackers also took down , which is the website
for Armenian Directory Yellow pages. Attackers attempted to hack into
a second server which hosts but were unsuccessful.

The most recent attack is the latest in a series of incidents
believed to be related to the approach of April 24, which marks the
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the deaths of
more than 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish
authorities. Last month the Armenia National Olympic Committee’s Web
site was hacked and replaced with a Turkish flag and a message denying
the Armenian Genocide. Modern Turkish officials have denied that the
genocide took place, referring to the deaths as the effects of a
"relocation" or deportation. The Turkish government’s position is
in contradiction to widely accepted scholarly research and official
eyewitness accounts.

The attacks appear to be carried out by a hacker who goes by the
Internet handle of "Ghost61" from the Turkish Website Turksec.info.

This person is also believed to be involved in a series of attacks
on more than 600 Swedish sites since the passage of a resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the Swedish parliament on March 1.

Several other Armenian owned businesses were affected by the server
hack, who were the innocent victims of this incident. The sites
included social media marketing company iClimber (),
a beauty salon (), a flower shop
(), and a garbage bin rental company
() .

"Sadly, most cyber-hate-crimes by Turkish entities against Armenian
websites are rooted in the environment of prejudice and hatred
created by the Turkish Government’s international campaign of
Armenian Genocide denial," stated ANCA Communications Director
Elizabeth Chouldjian. "It’s simply an extension of Turkey’s Article
301 restrictions on free speech into the internet – placing a cyber
"gag rule" on open discussion of this crime against all humanity."

All the websites attacked were offline for a period of two days
due to the damage caused by the attack. The hosting company will
be looking into enhanced security measures to stop future incidents
from occurring.