UN Site hacked

Posted on August 12th, 2007 by Marian Houk

Slashdot, a tech site is reporting that the main UN site was hacked using a technique called “SQL Injection”. This well known vulnerability typically occurs when a database-driven site exposes too much information, thus allowing users to manipulate database commands via the URL bar.

Also worth noting is the run on expensive, proprietary Microsoft software. Not only that but they used MS Word, the popular word processing application to create the “Down for maintenance page here: ” UN Site.

This exposes the total technical ignorance of the organization, and also raises questions about the UN’s lip-service to the open source movement (the same software that powers the One Laptop Per Child initiative). The same movement previous SG Kofi Annan had hoped would reduce the so-called “Digital Divide”.

Summary: It seems the UN’s security inadequacies are not confined to the physical world, and doesn’t practice what it preaches about IT colonialism.

O’reilly article on the UN and open-source: Article

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