Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2000/06/21/nike_web_site_owned_by/

Nike Web site owned by hacktivists

Hats off to a smooth DNS takeover

By Thomas C Greene

Posted in Legal, 21st June 2000 22:08 GMT

Hacktivists hijacked the Nike Web site, pointing surfers to another site announcing an event called S-11. The site is highly critical of globalism and its effects on the national economies, eco-systems and workers in third-world countries.

The S-11 site announces a 'call to action' involving conferences and other protest activities to be organised in Melbourne, Australia, culminating in a bid to shut down the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled there from 11-13 September.

The 2000 Olympic Games are set to begin on 16 September in Sydney, and Nike is a major sponsor. The company has long been a target of severe criticism charging that it operates factories in South America and Southeast Asia with near slave-labour conditions, in which children are often employed.

"This September the worldwide social movement of creative resistance against globalisation will continue to raise its voice against the institutions of greed and exploitation," the organisers say.

"S-11 will be a kaleidoscope of actions, conferences and workshops united in opposition to the current policies of corporate globalisation and the WEF."

The hacked site has been mirrored by attrition.org

A DNS hijacking is technically more sophisticated than a run-of-the-mill site defacement. Those wishing to learn more about it may consult this step-by-step tutorial by securiteam.

The hack is also superior because it referred surfers to a fully-developed Web site filled with serious information and rational arguments, rather than the usual Script Kiddie offerings of a few cartoons and some illiterate obscenities. We give it a 9.2.

Following a tip from Securitywatch's Peter Thomas, we discovered that, while the hijack has been interrupted and the Nike site has been restored, 24 hours after the attack Network Solutions was still reporting some 'irregular' information concerning Nike.com's administrative staff:

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact, Billing Contact:
Fa Da Pa Das (FD2949-ORG) fadapadas@S11.org.uk
S11.org.uk
Fa Da Pa Das
Fa Da Pa Das, EU Fa Da Pa Das
UK
Fa Da Pa Das
Fax- Fa Da Pa Das
Record last updated on 20-Jun-2000

It seems the hacktivists r00ted NSI quite deeply. We wonder how long it will be before they acknowledge the holes in their registration scheme, and take steps to bung them. ®