14 DAY TRIAL // The website of the open-source text editor Notepad++ has been defaced by an Islamist hacking group because the developer released a “Je suis Charlie” edition of the software.
“Je suis Charlie” is the worldwide adopted slogan symbolizing freedom of speech and expression, following the shooting incident on January 7 at the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper headquarters in Paris.
Perps flex their muscles
The special Notepad++ edition was launched on January 10, and two days later, Tunisian hackers operating under the name Fallaga Team defaced the website and plastered anti-Western messages on it.
It appears that the deed had nothing to do with the Charlie Hebdo incident in particular but with Islamic propaganda in general.
Most of the times, the perpetrators simply hack because they found an easy target and feel the need to prove their skills. A look at Fallaga Team’s work shows that it defaced at least 300 websites in 2015 alone.
Since January 8, it seems that they focused their attention on French websites, regardless of their domain of activity.
Freedom of speech cannot be repressed
On the one hand, hacking websites may be what it takes for security-aware administrators to make improvements that prevent such incidents from happening again. However, not all admins are sufficiently tech savvy to know what to do and the messages may persist for longer periods of time.
The website for Notepad++ has been restored to its intended form and the developer still has the “Je suis Charlie” edition available for download. His message is clear:
“Freedom of expression is like the air we breathe, we don't feel it, until people take it away from us. For this reason, Je suis Charlie, not because I endorse everything they published, but because I cherish the right to speak out freely without risk even when it offends others. And no, you cannot just take someone's life for whatever he/she expressed.”
A cached version of the defaced page is available at Zone-H.
