'Arab Electronic Army' Emerges in Response to Anti-Islamic Film
A new, focused group of hackers from a number of Arab countries is reportedly attacking Western websites in retaliation for an anti-Islamic video that has been cited as the proximate cause for violent demonstrations in the Middle East, including the recent attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead.
"The hacking operations are of course a response to the offense against the prophet, peace and blessing be upon him," a member of the self-proclaimed Arab Electronic Army, comprised of hackers from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and other countries, told Alarabiya.net recently.
Innocence of Muslims, a collection of incendiary video clips uploaded to YouTube in June by an individual believed to be an Israeli real estate developer living in the United States, has been cited by the media as the spark for a violent, concentrated anti-Western in several Muslim countries in North Africa that culminated in a series of attacks on U.S. embassies on Sept. 11. The worst of those attacks resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.