Suspects allegedy hacked through security measures on popular Web site's server and kicked off chat moderators.
By REBECCA ANNA STOILcomputers 88(photo credit: )
Two young suspects were arrested in Tel Aviv Thursday for allegedly hacking into a popular Web site and holding its popular chat rooms "hostage" in exchange for site manager privileges.
The district's fraud unit opened a criminal investigation after receiving a complaint from the popular Hebrew-language Web site Tapuz, which manages a number of chat rooms.
Tapuz complained that on several weekends, the site was brought down by hackers who had assumed chat manager privileges.
Police think the two suspects - Sharon Azariya, 18, from Ashdod, and a 20-year-old Hadera resident - hacked through the security measures on the site's server. They then allegedly would acquire chat manager status and kick the legitimate chat moderators off the site.
The suspects are also believed to have used a program that changes IP addresses and the user names within the chat rooms. At one point, chat managers and one of the suspects established communication, and the suspect allegedly requested manager privileges in exchange for stopping the cyber attacks.
Under questioning, police said, Azariya connected himself to the crimes ascribed to him. Brought to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Thursday morning, he was released on restricted terms.
