Hackers break into Zimbabwe government website

Hackers break into Zimbabwe government website

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN intelligence officials were investigating a major security breach this week after two computer wizards from the UK hacked into the government's website forcing it to go offline.

New Zimbabwe.com was alerted to the breach by the hackers from Leicester, England.

"The idea was to hack into the website and replace everything on there with slogans like 'Robert Mugabe is a tyrant'," one of the hackers told New Zimbabwe.com by telephone last night.

"We were about to achieve our goal when the whole thing crashed," the hacker who has asked to remain anonymous said. "We will keep trying, the security is clearly lax."

The government website http://www.gta.gov.zw is now offline and has been replaced by a server advert from the computer giant Microsoft.

An intelligence source within the CIO's telcoms unit told New Zimbabwe.com last night: "This is a very serious security breach. We are trying to establish how this came about and we are treating it very seriously. The internet has become a major source of irritation for the government and the President has admitted as much."

The government recently announced moves to monitor e-mails. The plan is for all internet service providers in Zimbabwe to forward to government any e-mail communications "likely to incite or cause alarm, fear or despondency" under the country's draconian Public Order and Security Act.

At least two people have been arrested and charged.

However, President Robert Mugabe's bid to play Big Brother has already suffered a major setback after the Supreme Court, sitting as a full bench, declared as unconstitutional legal provisions that give the President powers to eavesdrop, including the powers to intercept mail, telephone conversations and other such electronic telecommunications devices.

The superior court upheld contentions by the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LCZ), a grouping of lawyers, who had filed the constitutional application arguing that the presidential powers provided for by the Posts and Telecommunication (PTC) Act violated section 20 of the Constitution.

The lawyers were challenging section 98 and 103 of the PTC Act, which gives president powers to intercept mail, telephones, e-mail and any other form of communication.

The Act also gave powers to the president to give any directions to a licensee requiring him or her to do or not to do a particular specified action.
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