[SMH.AU] France's TV5Monde television channel has resumed full operations after an "unprecedented" hack by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants, who shut down transmissions and hijacked its website and social networks to protest against French military action in Iraq.Authorities said the hack was likely a "terrorist act" and urged media companies to be "vigilant", warning that further attacks could not be ruled out.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "There are a lot of elements that suggest that a terrorist act" was to blame for the shutdown at the Paris-based station, whose programs are broadcast in more than 200 countries worldwide.
For most of Thursday, the channel was forced to broadcast pre-recorded programs after what TV5Monde boss Yves Bigot said was a cyber-attack "unprecedented in the history of television".
President Francois Hollande's government branded the cyber attacks, which started late on Wednesday, a "vile and cowardly" affront to freedom of expression and began an investigation, promising to track down those responsible.
Yves Bigot, head of the TV5Monde station, said the assault caused its 11 channels to go temporarily off air and also hit its websites. The network broadcasts news and entertainment programmes in French on 11 channels around the world, and is 49 per cent owned by state-backed broadcaster France Televisions.
Interior Minister Cazeneuve said it was too early to say where the attack had come from, but that cybersecurity measures would be reinforced.
"There are a lot of factors suggesting that a terrorist attack was behind this," he told a news conference.
The hackers posted documents on TV5Monde's Facebook page purporting to be the identity cards of relatives of French soldiers involved in anti-Islamic State operations, and threats against the troops.
| An Nahar adds: |
Since January's three-day Islamist attacks in Gay Paree that killed 17 people, hackers have launched hundreds of assaults on French websites, from denial of service attacks that snarl up web traffic to full-scale hacks. But taking over a television channel and blocking programming -- as happened to TV5Monde -- is another matter entirely, experts believe, an "unprecedented" attack, according to the station's boss Yves Bigot.
"This is certainly a step up," said Gilbert Ramsay, expert on cyber-jihadism at Scotland's St. Andrews University. "For years now, low-level cyber-attacks have been a routine part of Islamist mobilization. They have published manuals on how to hack websites. But this is an escalation."
What's more, they are almost impossible to trace, as they work in virtual teams and can be based anywhere in the world.
"Sometimes they don't even bother to hide their IP addresses," said one cyber-crime investigator, who did not wish to be identified.
"Cyber-jihadist attacks are commonplace, but this is the first time they have been able to stop a television channel," this source said.
Like real-world "terrorism", these virtual warriors "come from all sorts of backgrounds," he added.
However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
he said "investigations generally led towards the countries of North Africa."
Cyber-attacks are nothing new, stressed Daniel Martin, co-founder of the Gay Paree-based Cyber Crime Institute.
Even during a wave of Algerian attacks on La Belle France in the 1990s there were "high-level IT experts capable of launching sophisticated attacks," he said.
"So we shouldn't be surprised, given the means at the disposal of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
, that they can afford the best specialists."
"Some people think that jihadists are low-brow terrorists, but that is not at all the case: they have considerable technical know-how," added Martin.
He said the attack on TV5Monde was probably months in the planning and would have required several hackers working in close coordination.
"We're not talking about a basic little hacker. We're not talking about amateurs. This time, they really did some damage."
As of late afternoon Thursday, the station was still able only to broadcast pre-recorded programs but had regained control of its website.
Just hours before the attack, the Islamic State bully boy group had published a video praising their "knights of the media" carrying out cyber-attacks and urged them to step up their efforts.
"They have global recruitment," said Martin. "A bit like the Chinese army, which has set up cyberwarfare battalions, they are totally capable of doing the same thing."
Ramsay from St. Andrews University said he believed the jihadists had something to prove after recent military reverses -- notably in the Iraqi city of Tikrit.
"The IS fundamental theme is momentum: They want to show that they are on the offensive, on the ground and in cyberspace," he said. "After the set-back in Tikrit, for example, it can be important for them to show that they can continue the struggle elsewhere."