Indonesian hackers protest hacker's arrest ... by hacking

Hackers have been hard at work in Indonesia, defacing web sites left right and center in protest at the treatment of a local hacker who defaced the president’s web site earlier this month and could now face a 12 year jail term.

Internet café worker Wildan Yani Ashari, 22, was cuffed by police last Friday just over a fortnight after he replaced the home page of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) with the message: “This is a PayBack From Jember Hacker Team”.

Ashari, who hails from the East Java district of Jember, has been charged under local laws which could land him 12 years in the slammer and a maximum fine of IDR 12bn (£784,000), according to local news site Detik.

As pointed out by TechInAsia, several sites including that of the Supreme Court remain hacked and defaced after Ashari supporters vented their frustration at his harsh treatment by the authorities.

The statement on the hacked Supreme Court site apparently calls on the government to engage more with the hacker community so that they can work together to improve web site security and respond to any intrusions from outside the country.

Given Indonesia’s robust attitudes to law enforcement and sentencing, such pleas are unlikely to persuade the authorities to go easy on Ashari, who police say has been up to mischief in the past. ®