Epilepsy forums hacked, becomes flashing website

[Jrubzjeknf]

Hackers Assault Epilepsy Patients via Computer

Internet griefers descended on an epilepsy support message board last weekend and used JavaScript code and flashing computer animation to trigger migraine headaches and seizures in some users.

The nonprofit Epilepsy Foundation, which runs the forum, briefly closed the site Sunday to purge the offending messages and to boost security.

"We are seeing people affected," says Ken Lowenberg, senior director of web and print publishing at the Epilepsy Foundation. "It's fortunately only a handful. It's possible that people are just not reporting yet -- people affected by it may not be coming back to the forum so fast."

The incident, possibly the first computer attack to inflict physical harm on the victims, began Saturday, March 22, when attackers used a script to post hundreds of messages embedded with flashing animated gifs.

The attackers turned to a more effective tactic on Sunday, injecting JavaScript into some posts that redirected users' browsers to a page with a more complex image designed to trigger seizures in both photosensitive and pattern-sensitive epileptics.

RyAnne Fultz, a 33-year-old woman who suffers from pattern-sensitive epilepsy, says she clicked on a forum post with a legitimate-sounding title on Sunday. Her browser window resized to fill her screen, which was then taken over by a pattern of squares rapidly flashing in different colors.

Fultz says she "locked up."

"I don't fall over and convulse, but it hurts," says Fultz, an IT worker in Coeur d'Alene, Ohio. "I was on the phone when it happened, and I couldn't move and couldn't speak."

After about 10 seconds, Fultz's 11-year-old son came over and drew her gaze away from the computer, then killed the browser process, she says.

"Everyone who logged on, it affected to some extent, whether by causing headaches or seizures," says Browen Mead, a 24-year-old epilepsy patient in Maine who says she suffered a daylong migraine after examining several of the offending posts. She'd lingered too long on the pages trying to determine who was responsible.

Circumstantial evidence suggests the attack was the work of members of Anonymous, an informal collective of griefers best known for their recent war on the Church of Scientology. The first flurry of posts on the epilepsy forum referenced the site EBaumsWorld, which is much hated by Anonymous. And forum members claim they found a message board thread -- since deleted -- planning the attack at 7chan.org, a group stronghold.

Fultz says the attack spawned an uncommonly bad seizure. "It was a spike of pain in my head," she says. "And the lockup, that only happens with really bad ones. I don't think I've had a seizure like that in about a year."

But she's satisfied with the Epilepsy Foundation's relatively fast response to the attack, about 12 hours after it began on Easter weekend. "We all really appreciate them for giving us this forum and giving us this place to find each other," she says.

Epilepsy affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, about 3 percent of whom are photosensitive, meaning flashing lights and colors can trigger seizures.

Discuss. Imo: sick bastards who do that. Hacking a forum is one thing, physically attacking people is in a whole different league.

 

[Exus Tecius]

yes.really bad thing.
i wonder what fun they are looking for?
i just hope they regret it and dont do it again.yeah call me a dreamer if you want.

 

[Gundato]

Okay, that is just hilarious. Sucks for the people who needed it, but if that ain't funny, I don't know what is. And, since nobody was seriously hurt, I can keep laughing.

That being said: Do you still think that Anonymous are heroes for attacking Scientology and persecuting those who believe in it?

 

[Exus Tecius]

gundy: the bad thing is those ppl can really get hurt.
you would say now.."why they go online and use the internet?"
yes true.but maybe they want to have their freedom too.and maybe
they need it as a test how far they are regenarated...i.e.

about scientology...i dont care about it.really.
and i wonder why ppl hate them so much.to me it looks like they dont harm anyone.


wont say much more..as you now my english is not that good.
just wanted to say that.

 

[Gundato]

gundy: the bad thing is those ppl can really get hurt.
you would say now.."why they go online and use the internet?"
yes true.but maybe they want to have their freedom too.and maybe
they need it as a test how far they are regenarated...i.e.

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

 

[Exus Tecius]

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

if it was meant to be fun ,than i agree.
sorry for dumb question..isnt seizure a heartattack?
i really thought its something like that.

 

[Festering Anus]

Yeah.. I'm not sure if I should be laughing really hard .. or laughing really really hard

 

[Al]

Okay, that is just hilarious. Sucks for the people who needed it, but if that ain't funny, I don't know what is. And, since nobody was seriously hurt, I can keep laughing.

I chuckled a bit

 

[Zur]

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

People have been known to swallow their tongue when having a serious fit. If noone is around to help that equates to death.

 

[zynthetic]

There has been some speculation that it was $cientology masquerading as Anon.

 

[Twisted Metal]

sorry for dumb question..isnt seizure a heartattack?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure

 

[Gundato]

People have been known to swallow their tongue when having a serious fit. If noone is around to help that equates to death.

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

 

[Exus Tecius]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure

tnx.google and lycos translator failed.

 

[Sirius]

Okay, that is just hilarious. Sucks for the people who needed it, but if that ain't funny, I don't know what is. And, since nobody was seriously hurt, I can keep laughing.

That being said: Do you still think that Anonymous are heroes for attacking Scientology and persecuting those who believe in it?

Wow, Gundato. You are the biggest dipsh*t I have ever had the displeasure of reading on any forum.

This has nothing to do with Scientology or Anon and people were physically hurt. Migraines and seizures or physical. Try looking it up some time moron.

People like you should stop posting.

 

[DarkED]

Wow, Gundato. You are the biggest dipsh*t I have ever had the displeasure of reading on any forum.

This has nothing to do with Scientology or Anon and people were physically hurt. Migraines and seizures or physical. Try looking it up some time moron.

People like you should stop breathing.

I agree.

 

[Exus Tecius]

but the "stop breathing" thing goes to far.imo.
no need for so much hate.

 

[SleepyHe4d]

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

Just like if some drunk guy speeds on the highway and nobody gets hurt, funny!

 

[Gundato]

Just like if some drunk guy speeds on the highway and nobody gets hurt, funny!

More like when there is a crash in a NASCAR race (and nobody gets hurt).

Or extreme sports in general. Those are special cases because it is funny even when the guy gets hurt. It only stops being funny if he is paralyzed, loses something (other than a spleen), or dies.

 

[Zur]

Did anyone get seriously hurt? Nope. Then it is funny.

To be honest I don't care what happened to those people. But you my friend are just being cruel, or provocative. I see you already have fish in that net of yours.

 

[DeeperShade]

Gundy.
Anonymous (from what I know of it) is a multi pronged grouping of individuals.

There are various subsets of the name, one subset is attacking scientology.
Another, doesn't like the fact that so called 'newfags' are calling themselves anonymous and have reverted back to the anon stable way of griefing anyone they want.

Im in no way a fan on any anonymous. They laugh at corpses, phonegrief the parents of dead children, they're sick and need ****ing shooting or, if not that, at least have their ability to breed removed.

However, I am also abhorent of Scientology. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.

Ofcourse, you do tend to make posts which make me believe you perceive only black and white, so the above may confuse you.