Hackers give Sonia nasty birthday gift. No thanks Kapil

GN Bureau | December 9, 2011



As if to snub communications minister Kapil Sibal threatening a crackdown on internet giants like Google, Yahoo and Facebook for "offensive" contents, unknown hackers broke into the ruling Congress party's website and defaced Sonia Gandhi's profile page with an obscene pornographic message and that too on her birthday.

The attack coincided with Gandhi's 65th birthday and came just days after the Indian government pledged a crackdown on "unacceptable" internet content, that included doctored pictures of the Congress leader. All that the party could do was to shut the website, but only after hours after it was hacked.

It was dirty pictures and offensive comments on Sonia Gandhi on a score of popular websites that had prompted Sibal to announce that he will evolve guidelines and mechanism to deal with the issue. He had highlighted examples of faked pictures of politicians, including Sonia Gandhi, and other images on social network pages that he said could inflamme religious tensions.

A storm of online ridicule along with warnings had greeted his statement not only from users of the popular websites but even from the US Department of States two days ago that India should do nothing that impinges upon the freedom of expression.

Comments

 

Other News

India reaffirms commitment to climate multilateralism

India has reaffirmed its commitment to climate multilateralism and the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), calling for a fair, equitable and ambitious outcome at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framewo

How the mind can help the body heal itself

Why do some people recover from illness against all odds? Can our beliefs, emotions and consciousness influence the body’s ability to heal? Drawing on over three decades of experience in medicine, research and medical innovation, internationally trained ophthalmologist and author Dr Dinesh Verma ex

1,364 anti-cancer formulations to cost less from today

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has capped trade margins on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of 137 anti-cancer drugs. This was based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee constitute

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter