Hackers Deface Australian Rating Board's Website
Hackers Deface Australian Rating Board's Website
March 27, 2009
The website of the Australian Classification Board has been defaced by hackers, according to GameSpot.
The board provides content ratings for video games, movies and literature. It's unclear, however whether the attack was in response to the current debate over an R18+ rating for games Down Under or a controversial Internet filtering plan under consideration by the Australian government.
The message left by the hacker(s) reads:
This site contains information about the boards that have the right to CONTROL YOUR FREEDOMZ. The Classification Board has the right to not just classify content (the name is an ELABORATE TRICK), but also the right to DECIDE WHAT IS AND ISNT APPROPRIATE and BAN CONTENT FROM THE PUBLIC.
The site has been taken offline, presumably for cleanup.
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Posted 11/20/09 at 05:42pm
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
ZippyDSMlee: oh may the cute stab out your eyes, http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:17pm
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
JDKJ: O.K. Suit yourself. But when you're wearing Ray-Bans, sitting on a curb with a white cane and a cup of pencils, and doing Stevie Wonder impersonations, don't say I didn't warn you.
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No thank you I don;t want your cooties...or STDs...
Posted 11/20/09 at 05:01pm
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
JDKJ: Me. I'm rehearsing the role just in case I do get dubbed Zippy The Soecnda.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:59pm
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
DarkSaber: Wait, is that meant to be Zippy, me or you?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:49pm
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
JDKJ: I cud caer lez. =^^= *wakes up in mid-afternoon after staying up until 3:00AM soldering resistors on to circuit boards, stumbles around in formerly white but now grey underwear, while simultaneously scratching groin with vigor and making coffee*
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:46pm
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
DarkSaber: knell? Don't you mean Neil? Anymore of tht and I'll dub thee Zippy The Soecnda
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:44pm
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
JDKJ: Now, now, Saber. Don't be salty. You weren't the first one to knell and bob and you ain't gonna be the last one, either.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:42pm
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
DarkSaber: JD's feeling rather desperate it seems.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:33pm
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
JDKJ: C'mon, Zip. You already touch yourself way too much. Spread the love. Before you go blind.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:No and I ain't touching any part of you or your friends!! :P
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:25pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Lik Mitaint?
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
ZippyDSMlee: neill and bob,oldest giveing head joke and most lamest...
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
JDKJ: But thanks for the memory. MIB's a classic. *sings* "Here come the Men in Black. Galaxy defenders. Here come the Men in Black. They won't let you remember."
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:18pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
ZippyDSMlee: JD:for the record I told you you can suck your own dck.
Posted 11/20/09 at 04:07pm
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
JDKJ: Naw, man. That's Mueedeegiaap and Bob. And you can stop bobbing. I got Zippy bobbing now, too.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:56pm
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
DarkSaber: OH I get it now! It's Men In Black quote! The twins that run the comm centre in HQ.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:49pm
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
JDKJ: I'd like to introduce you to them. First, Neil. Then, Bob.
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:47pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I know they are intimate friends of yours...
Posted 11/20/09 at 03:44pm
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
JDKJ: @Zip: You know Neil and Bob?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Yeah because if there's one thing that will help the perception of gamers and media consumers in general as mature and rational people, it's a hackjob by a childish dickhead
Thanks you tool
When ratings boards treat us like children, what do you expect to happen? Of course we'll start to act like children.
...and the spiral continues it's decent.
@Bennett Beeny
OMG I adore your handle - big fan of the 'America' story-arc right here :)
...because it was gamers that did this.
> It's unclear, however whether the attack was in response to the current debate over an R18+ rating for games Down Under or a controversial Internet filtering plan under consideration by the Australian government.
...oh.
/b
Yeah this is not helpful. Why don't we just start sending death threats to people who opose us? Oh wait, we have already done that. Keep it up people. We are never screwed enough.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
You know what they say: "It's never enough until people start open riots in the streets!"
"HEY! LISTEN!"
Well it dose get the word out thus why such things are done.
But a pamphlet campaign thats hows what M15 games would be 18 and what M15 games that would be 15 would be better press out 5-20K worth ofpamphlets and hand them out around the AG's office/area.
Gore,Violence,Sexauilty,Fear,Emotion these are but modes of transportation of story and thought, to take them from society you create a society of children and nannys, since adults are not required.
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
The only 'word' it gets out is that gamers really ARE puerile immature dickheads.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Not really becuse it makes the local news, whitch can reach more commen people with the line of thought that the whole M15 only thing dose not work.
Gore,Violence,Sexauilty,Fear,Emotion these are but modes of transportation of story and thought, to take them from society you create a society of children and nannys, since adults are not required.
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Yes, it makes the news. Get what they're going to say. You seriously think the news outlets are going to say that this was an act of people looking for a serious, mature discussion? Or do you think it's going to say that the ones encouraging this are nutjobs?
This doing more harm than good, sadly.
It dosent matter if the messenger is a nut job the message was brought out.
Gore,Violence,Sexauilty,Fear,Emotion these are but modes of transportation of story and thought, to take them from society you create a society of children and nannys, since adults are not required.
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Yeah, the message that gamers are immature dicks who commit cyberterrorism to get their way.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Because the intarnetz is srs business amirite!?
It is if you're a mass media news comapny. Like the ones that will be reporting what some cyberterrorist illegally did to a government website.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
-grabs Laughing Man program-
Dude, I haven't had to use this in SO long. But, cyberterrorism is cyberterrorism! ^^
"HEY! LISTEN!"
The Third Man is the way to go if you want to crash a network! ;-)
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Psh. Who wants to crash a website when you can replace all the pictures with Laughing Man faces? Especially when it's a Photobucket page. :3
"HEY! LISTEN!"
"It dosent matter if the messenger is a nut job the message was brought out."
But would the message be seen as credible? Ah, when in doubt, people look at the messenger's reputation. Reputation and credibility go hand in hand, soooo.... no one is going to listen to a nut job.
GameSnooper
"It's unclear, however whether the attack was in response to the current debate over an R18+ rating for games Down Under or a controversial Internet filtering plan under consideration by the Australian government."
No, Luke, I AM the Walrus
It is important to note that we are talking about MA15+ games,
the M15+ was changed to just an M rating with no number attached. The M rating is a blue lable that is more like the T rating in America.
It is the MA15+ rating that is a red lable that also has the words "RESTRICTED" on it, even though it is always up to the parent's permission for their child to play it when it says on the back of the cover "Those under the age of 15 MUST be acconpanied by a parent or adult guardian."
So yeah, it is important to get our information right or else we would look as stupid as JT or the Eagle Forum when they hopelessly get their facts wrong.
But yeah, the OFLC rating in Australia (while they also apply for movies and DVDs) are harder to understand than the ESRB in America where I can really understand them easily with the E, E10+, T, M17+ and the (missing in action) AO18+ rating that can't be used because retailers won't carry an AO rated game in the US.
Oddly enought what they wrote is the complete truth.
But it dosen't change the fact that this was more harmful then helpful for that 18+ rating the Australians wants.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
The hacker didn't need to act so childish about it, he/she could have done something more creative and used it a bit wiser than simply making silly spellings for internet lingo.
While what they had written was correct, I don't think this would go down well if the site was hacked.
No one deserves their site to be hacked, because that sends out a negtive message about us computer users.
So please, don't try to put any blame on the OFLC, they have been doing all they can to balance out the ability to inform parents with the freedoms of adults to chose what they want to play.
Like think about it, 4 years ago the OFLC was getting allot of criticism, and in the past few years they have allowed more adult games in that stretch the MA15+ all because of one man who will never listen.
And it was the OFLC who originally asked for the R18+ rating to be introduced for videogames.
So without them, we would not have had a chance to start up this debate in the first place.
So get real people, don't attack the OFLC, start making a real point and protest against Mr Atkinson, the only guy who is holding back the R18+ rating for Videogames.
Or better yet, try to write to the Vic and ACT Attorney Generals about trying to support the R18+ rating for Videogames in State Parliment instead of federal, because if laws can't be passed federally then they might be able to be passed with each State just like in the Abortion and Stem Cell research debates.
More information less lulz....
Gore,Violence,Sexauilty,Fear,Emotion these are but modes of transportation of story and thought, to take them from society you create a society of children and nannys, since adults are not required.
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Yes, they're right, but this was not necessary.
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Anger is a great way of inciting change.
What he was saying was completely relevant and utterly true. Government boards that restrict or censor Free Speech get absolutly no sympothy from me. They shouldn't even exist.
"No law means no law" - Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black on the First Amendment
Nice, but they could have at least tried to do a little more damage than that. Nobody but gamers and the Rating Board is going to care.
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Believe in something! Even if it's wrong, believe in it! -Glenn Beck
Meh. The Austrailian government is dogshit in my book- no society that can call itself "free" would have content filters on the internet. I can care less that their websites get hacked.
The method is controversial, but, when you don´t have any power of voice, what other way do you have?
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
As much as I applaud the effort, I imagien Atkinson, the being responsible for the current situation, will turn this around to cement his position.
An idea just struck me.
What if instead of hacking the site we were to make a praody site, with the same message (spelt correctly of course), only way more elaborate. Photoshopped logos, similar layouts and everything. The kind of stuff you'd see from one of GTA's parody websites, or perhaps MAD. That might raise some attention.
Edit: Oh and will someone fill me in on their internet filters?
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
Australia's government, or parts thereof seem to think that censoring the internet is practical and a good idea. As such they're makes some attempt in that direction. Here's a few links to give you an idea:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/german_police_raid_wikileaks/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/19/australia_list_leaked/
http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/banned-hyperlinks-could-cost-you-11000-a-day/2009/03/17/1237054787635.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/19/1237054961100.html
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1888011,00.html
The bottom line is that while they aren't there yet, they're trying and already showing exactly how their blacklist might balloon to cover anything they don't like.
-Gray17
Basically they're taking a page out of China's playbook and trying to censor the "harmful" sections of the internet. "Harmful" will be decided by the Party, Comrade, so have no fear! You'll never see any of those horrible anti-government sites ever again! Or those nasty cooking blogs either!
It's even more ironic given the current state of China-linked crap surrounding our Government and the Defence Department in particular. The only way it could be topped off would be if the AFP arrested our Prime Minister on Treason and Spying for China charges when he gets back from his n-th trip around the world.
I am disappointed that the Austrailian people haven't started marching in the streets over this. Internet censorship in a "free" society is unheard of. Where's the outrage?
Probably because most people see it as 'only' the internet. Usually they are the same sort of people who go out of their way to find offensive content on it and then complain that it's there...
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
That is just scary, and so completely wrong on so many different levels. Perhaps we can ask them to block Atkinson's page, since apparently they block everything at random. Perhaps I'll be browsing wikileaks later to see their block lists.
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
Correct punctuation and spelling would have been nice.
Andrew Eisen
And it's about damn time too. Maybe this will be a wake up call for the Australian ratings board.
More like this is just the sort of ammunition they need to further entrench their position.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Yes, because nothing says, "We need to have a serious discussion." like defacing someone else's property.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
Because the internet is serious fucking business. Come on. Any rational person will realise that this is just a dumb skiddie with a keylogger fucking with the site.
Your logic has a major, and I mean MAJOR hole, consensus on Atkinson (and for that, News media) is that they are anything BUT rational in 99% of cases.
Are you seriously this naive?
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Um...This is serious business. What this person/s did is illegal in most every country that has internet access. This person could be charged with a Felony in the US just for defacing that website. Australia probably has similar laws in place.
Just because you don't like one law, does not give you the right to break other laws in retaliation.
People who want a serious discussion on the issue of R18 ratings and unfiltered internet do not need people like this on their side. To those who are in favor of filtered internet and not introducing the R18 rating, this just makes us look like nothing but cyberterrorists. Not a good image to have.
This behavior does nothing to support its cause but does everything to destroy it.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
Liike I said we should make a parody version of Australia's rating website.
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Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.
I hate to say it, but I agree with you. Damn skiddies...probably hacked a 50 account on Halo 3, too...
"HEY! LISTEN!"
Yes, I suppose the thought that the media and people in power would also see this as a juvenile attack by 'damn skiddies' and use it to dismiss actual grown-up peoples concerns and strengthen their position of oppostition never crossed your mind, did it skiddie.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Couple of points I'd like to say.
1. Re M15+/R18+ rating: The OFLC does nothing but look at games then apply a rating based on what they have available to them. They don't really have a role in the whole ratings issue, if the attorney generals agree for an R18 category, then the OFLC would just use that for games that don't match it's M15+ rating.
2. The hacking: Their message would be in relation to our possible pending bullshit censorship plan for the internet. Retarded thing to do, but at least it'll get people talking about the issue. Most of our news is fairly intelligent, it's only the 'issues' shows like today tonight that put sensationalist spin on it so there won't be much of a media bias towards the government.
3. Censorship: As it stands the policy won't get through, because of party factionalism labour (current sitting party) doesn't have a majority, they need some independants to push it through. In fact I think by my count they need all, so as long as one of them votes with the liberal party against it the law to allow the cencorship would fail.
For all those decrying it as pointless, reinforcing stereotypes etc...
You're right, it is.
I bet the Boston Tea Party reinforced some stereotypes as well? Anarchy and rebellion (ie. lack of respect for the law) will come when your government no longer pays you respect. That is what we have arrived at here in Australia.
I don't agree the ratings board should have been hacked, but I understand that people are frustrated with our government telling us how to live (not just giving us law, but legislating on many issues that are none of their business). If you keep poking a sleeping bear, eventually it'll wake up and it might just do something outlandish in return. The politicians are provoking this response, and they're going to get it.
If you treat the general populace like a bunch of idiots, they'll act as such. If you treat them like a gang of violent criminals, they'll act as such.
If you treat them as respectable citizens doing the best they can, they'll generally act as such. How's about using some of those apparently excess tax dollars you're gonna spend policing the internet, and starting a marketing campaign teaching citizens to choose for themselves?
I will not buy securom games. http://www.wolvenmoon.com/sharedfiles/message1.jpg and http://www.wolvenmoon.com/sharedfiles/message2.jpg
[mods delete this. I can't find the delete button]
This guy has just destroyed any credibility us Aussie gamers have... Good Ol' Atkinson will use this against us, without a shadow of a doubt.
But it does tell the truth, though...
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What seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time?