Turkish hacker group attacks Greek Army servers
The escalation of tensions between Ankara and Athens has reached a new limit. This time, the dispute over eastern Mediterranean waters has moved to the web. The country headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be behind a series of virtual attacks whose main purpose was to steal sensitive data from the servers of the General Staff of the Hellenic Army.
This announcement came several hours after the Egyptian Parliament ratified the maritime agreement establishing an exclusive economic zone with Greece. "The case is under investigation," said a source consulted by the daily Al Arabiya. According to the information available to this newspaper, the attack - which took place last Tuesday morning - was carried out by Turkish hackers who apparently changed the home page to a series of images of the seismic vessel Oruc Reis accompanied by nationalist messages.
This report states that during the last hours the websites related to the Army have been attacked by Turkish hackers who could have stolen sensitive data from the servers of this institution.
The Turkish hacker group "Akincilar" - which on other occasions has attacked the websites of several Greek ministries or agencies - has claimed responsibility for this action. However, the Greek digital Crisis Monitor has pointed out that the competent authorities in the country have not been able to clarify whether the group's members act autonomously or under the guidance of third parties. The photo - according to the daily Ekathimerini - was accompanied by messages about Turkish influence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The attack came several months after the group claimed to have hijacked the official websites of the Greek foreign and finance ministries, the National Intelligence Service (EYP), the Athens Stock Exchange and the parliament. The Turkish hacker group "Akincilar" used the social network Twitter to indicate that the website of the Army General Staff had been closed and all data stolen. However, Greek authorities confirmed on Wednesday that these hackers could not enter the employees' internal network and therefore could not access confidential files or data.
In addition, the Greek government announced on Thursday that it intends to ratify the agreement to demarcate the maritime borders with Egypt next week. This new agreement between Athens and Cairo establishes the maritime border between the two countries and demarcates an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for oil and gas drilling rights.
Historically, this region has been a source of tension. On the one hand, it is the gateway to the Red Sea through Egypt and, on the other, the entrance to Europe. The discovery of large gas deposits by Israel, Egypt and Lebanon in 2009 has opened a new wound in the area. The last chapter in this tense relationship took place this past month, after Ankara took the decision to continue searching for oil in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean and announced the start of seismic prospecting activities by the vessel Orus Reis, further exacerbating existing divisions in the region.
Turkish gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of Greece and Cyprus, the presence of Ankara in the Libyan powder keg or the migratory pressure exerted on the Greek border by the country of the Bosphorus are some of the causes that have created this tense scenario, in which Ankara has made it clear that it will continue to pursue its ambitions.
