Hackers assail epileptics with flashing banner attack

You know, I don't really mind when so-called "griefers" (hackers whose sole job is to make people miserable) attack, say, Second Life events or political websites. But when they intentionally go after nonprofit groups and target those with medical conditions, well, that's where a line gets crossed.

Last week, Internet vandals attacked an epilepsy sufferers' message board and injected a series of flashing animations into it. Flashing images, as many know, can trigger seizures in epileptics, and that's exactly what happened, with several people reporting that they were affected by the attack and at least one woman saying she suffered her worst attack in a year after being exposed to the flashing image.

Wired is calling the attack a watershed moment, "possibly the first computer attack to inflict physical harm on the victims."

No one has taken responsibility for the attacks, but early evidence points to Anonymous, the anti-Scientology group, as being responsible, according to Wired's Kevin Poulsen (see link below for details). UPDATE: Another theory holds that the attacks were generated by a group trying discredit Anonymous. I make no claim either way. Their attack method was hardly a unique one, using JavaScript to cause a post in a message board to resize a browser window to full-screen size and then redirect itself to another website which displayed the flashing pattern. The Epilepsy Foundation quickly took action to close the site and has repaired its security vulnerabilities since that time.

Though no permanent damage appears to have been done (seizures can sometimes end in death), attacks like this need to be investigated thoroughly and taken with utmost seriousness. Here's hoping those responsible are eventually brought to justice.

LINK: Hackers Assault Epilepsy Patients via Computer