Indonesian hackers crash Australian intelligence agency website

Indonesian hackers have crashed the website of Australian intelligence agency ASIS, according to hackers and cyber experts, dramatically stepping up the revenge attacks in response to the spying affair.

On Monday, Nov 11 afternoon the website of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service was still not working.

Heru Sutadi, executive director of Indonesian technology think tank the Indonesia ICT Institute, confirmed that hackers from the country had launched a successful “distributed denial of service” attack, which crashed the website.

Sutadi said the hackers, linked to the global cyber-activist network Anonymous, had first attacked the ASIS site on Friday evening.

Several Indonesian hacker groups were also boasting of the cyber-attack on online forums.

A group called the Indonesian Security Down Team is believed to have been behind the ASIS attack. The ISD Team and other groups including the Indonesian Cyber Army and the Java Cyber Army have vowed to continue such attacks.

They say they are also targeting other high-profile Australian government sites including those of the national security agency ASIO and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Those sites were working normally on Monday afternoon.

The groups say they are retaliating against Australia’s electronic spying operations from its Jakarta embassy, a program revealed by Fairfax Media recently. They say they will continue the hacking unless the Australian government apologizes and promises to stop the electronic surveillance program.

An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said the ASIS incident had not been referred to them.

ASIS is the agency responsible for gathering foreign intelligence and carrying out counter-intelligence. It is approximately equivalent to the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States.

The ASIS website includes information on the agency’s role, contact details and recruiting information.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The US plans $1.4-billion arms package for Indonesia

The Obama administration is proposing a potential $1.4-billion arms package for Indonesia, including eight Boeing Co Apache AH-64D attack helicopters, in a fresh tightening of security ties in a region rattled by China’s growing territorial assertiveness.

The deal would include fire control radars, common missile warning systems, radar signal detecting sets and 140 state-of-the-art Lockheed Martin Corp Hellfire II AGM-114R precision-strike missiles, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to the U.S. Congress published Friday.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s most populous country and the world’s most populous Muslim-majority state. Plans for several U.S. arms transfers to it have been announced since late last year that would make Jakarta a more militarily capable regional partner.

Indonesia would use the twin-engine Apache helicopters to defend its borders, conduct counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations, “and control the free flow of shipping through the Strait of Malacca,” the security agency said in its memo.

The proposed sale would provide Indonesia assets vital to deterring external and other potential threats, the Pentagon agency said.

The narrow and congested waterway is a potential choke point linking the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. The shortest sea route between the Middle East and growing Asian markets, it washes the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and carries about 40 percent of the world’s trade.

Piracy, including attempted theft and hijackings, is a constant threat to tankers, though the number of attacks has dropped following stepped-up patrols by the littoral states.

REGIONAL SECURITY

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who announced the planned Apache sale on Thursday without providing details on the rest of the arms package, said it would boost a comprehensive partnership with Indonesia and enhance security across the region.

She spoke in Washington during a meeting with visiting Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Indonesia represents just part of an increasing U.S. emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region for national security planning as China presses its claims on disputed territory, notably in the South China Sea.

The United States is also building Guam as a strategic hub, deploying up to four shore-hugging littoral combat ships on a rotational basis to Singapore and preparing a 2,500-strong Marine Corps task force rotation as part of a growing military partnership with Australia.

The arms and services called for under the $1.4 billion Indonesia package will provide key elements required for “interoperability” with U.S. forces, the security agency’s notice said.

Also included are “Identification Friend or Foe transponders,” 30mm guns and ammunition, communication equipment, tools and test equipment, simulators, generators, personnel training and logistics support services, the agency said.

The Hellfire II, included in the package, is the primary air-to-ground precision missile of its size for U.S. armed forces as well as the Central Intelligence Agency’s paramilitary capabilities and many U.S. allies.

The notice of such a sale is required by law. It does not mean that a deal has been concluded.

President Barack Obama announced in November plans to give Indonesia 24 decommisioned Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets, with Jakarta paying up $750 million to upgrade them and overhaul their engines, which are made by United Technologies Corp’s Pratt & Whitney unit.

The Pentagon moved in August to supply Raytheon Co AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground guided missiles and related gear valued at $25 million for Indonesia’s growing F-16 fleet.

Source: Reuters