VOA, February 22, 2011 – Iranian computer hackers on Monday hijacked the website of the Voice of America، replacing its Internet home page with a banner bearing an Iranian flag and an image of an AK-47 assault rifle.
The group called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “hear the voice of oppressed nations.”
The banner stated that “we have proven that we can.”
The message called on the United States to “stop interfering in Islamic countries.”
It then listed more 90 websites of VOA it claimed has also been hacked.
A State Department spokesman could not be reached for comment.
An administration official said the group identified with the banner is known as the Iranian Cyber Army.
VOA operates a global network of news and information outlets that reflect official U.S. foreign policies. It broadcasts، through radio، television and the Internet to scores of nations around the world.
Little is known about the group. It was credited with hacking and defacing Twitter in December 2009، replacing the social networking site’s home page with a message that the site was hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army.
Cyber security specialists have said there are suspicions that the Cyber Army is part of the Iranian government after the hacker group was critical of the pro-democracy Green Movement in Iran.