Hackers' posts on epilepsy forum cause migraines, seizures

May 8, 2008 By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

(AP) -- Computer attacks typically don't inflict physical pain on their victims. But in a rare example of an attack apparently motivated by malice rather than money, hackers recently bombarded the Epilepsy Foundation's Web site with hundreds of pictures and links to pages with rapidly flashing images.

Similar stories from PHYSorg:

Ethics debate over blood from newborn safety tests

18 hours ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

Security chip that does encryption in PCs hacked

20 hours ago | 4.6 / 5 (16) | 13

Chinese police shut down hacker training business

Feb 08, 2010 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

3-D printing coming in reach of consumers

Feb 04, 2010 | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 0

German man saved on frozen sea by webcam spotter

Feb 04, 2010 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

• zevkirsh - May 08, 2008
  • Rank: 2 / 5 (4)
  this is clearly evil and wrong and bad, but it's quite clever. you gotta give them that!
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• nilbud - May 08, 2008
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
  It's evolution in action.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• loboy - May 08, 2008
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
  Shame on all the news outlets for perpetuating this. What this person did on the Epilepsy Foundation's forum is a cruel act, yet certainly has nothing to do with hacking. Any joe schmo could post an animated gif to a forum.
  
  This is not journalism. The AP messed up here. Putting all these unrelated events together is fear mongering. To pull a quote from an antivirus software maker is ridiculous.
  
  Crap.
  
  
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Alexantrite - May 09, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
  I would not call this clever. It is purposeful intent to cause harm which is more malicious than mischievous. Persons who set out to do harm for the sheer adventure are on the evolutionary level of the leech. Poetic justice would be for them to cause the reaction in themselves that they are intending to cause in others.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Jayem - May 09, 2008
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
  Zevkirsh: This is not clever, this is ignorance and stupidity by people who have no compunction about the harm they could cause. I just hope these perpetrators will soon be tracked down, becasue if they can pull of something like this on helpful sites like Epilepsy, then imagine the extremes they can get upto.
  John
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5