A demonstrator holds a placard in front of a police line
Credit: Reuters
Hackers attacked military-run government websites in Myanmar on Thursday as a cyber war erupted after authorities shut down the internet for a fourth straight night.
A group called Myanmar Hackers disrupted multiple government websites including the Central Bank, Myanmar Military’s propaganda page, state-run broadcaster MRTV, the Port Authority, Food and Drug Administration.
The move comes a day after thousands of people rallied across the country to protest against a military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government from power earlier this month.
"We are fighting for justice in Myanmar," the hacking group said on its Facebook page. "It is like mass protesting of people in front of government websites."
Cybersecurity expert Matt Warren from Australia’s RMIT University said it was likely the aim of the hacking was to generate publicity.
A rally against the coup in Bagan
Credit: Reuters
"The sorts of attacks they would be undertaking are denial of service attacks or defacing websites which is called hacktivism," he told AFP. "The impact will be potentially limited but what they are doing is raising awareness."
Another internet shutdown began in Myanmar at about 1:00 am on Thursday (1830 GMT Wednesday), according to NetBlocks, a Britain-based group that monitors internet outages around the world.
It said internet connectivity had dropped to just 21 percent of ordinary levels.
Protesters were out again across Myanmar on Thursday, from busy intersections in downtown Yangon to the ancient capital of Bagan, people from all walks of life marched to denounce the Feb. 1 coup and the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The daily protests and strikes that have paralysed many government offices show no sign of easing despite a junta promise of a new election and appeals for civil servants to return to work and threats of action if they do not.
Protesters occupy a street in Mandalay
Credit: AFP
Late on Wednesday, the junta issued arrest warrants against six celebrities, including film directors, actors and a singer, under an anti-incitement law, for encouraging civil servants to join the protest.
The charges can carry a two-year prison sentence.
“It’s amazing to see the unity of our people. People’s power must return to the people,” actor Lu Min, who was on the junta’s ‘wanted list’, posted defiantly on his Facebook page.
An activist group that monitors social media said that since Feb. 9, posts had shown some sort of protest in about 90% of cities and towns across the country.
The military says a majority of people back its actions.
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