Hacker breaks into Google Palestine homepage in protest of Maps depiction

Many websites have faced the brunt of cyber attacks over the last few months. The latest to feature on the list is the Palestinian version of the Google search page. The page,Google.ps, was reportedly defaced by a successful hijacking attempt, according toZDNet. The Google page has since reverted to normal.

The compromised page described how the hackers were protesting the terminology used in Google Maps, which does not formally show the name “Palestine” on its digital images. The attempt was successfully able to redirect the Google homepage to a Morocco-based server, according to the report. It has since been confirmed that Google.ps is still under the ownership of Google US, based out of California.

On the compromised page, the hacker protested the terminology by saying, "uncle google we say hi from palestine to remember you that the country in google map not called israel. its called Palestine." Added to the text was a map screenshot of the area. It should be noted that the main Google logo seen on the hacked page was directly linked to a Google-owned domain. In addition, the Google Maps screenshot was hosted by a third-party Arabic image and file sharer known as GulfUp, according to the report. The hacked page also encouraged users to accept a RealPlayer plugin to play a Rihanna track.

The Google Palestine page was successfully hijacked (Image credit: ZDNet)

While talking about this to the source, a Google spokesperson, in an email, said, “Some users visiting Google.ps have been getting redirected to a different website; Google services for the Google.ps domain were not hacked. We're in contact with the organisation responsible for managing this domain name so we can help resolve the problem.” The spokesperson, however, did not comment on who may have been behind the DNS hijacking.

Google stirred up a hornet’s nest a few months back when it formally dropped the “Palestinian Territories” label, changing it to “Palestine”. At the time, the search giant had said that it was following in the footsteps of the United Nations and other international organisations. The decision was received with widespread approval across Palestine, but sparked a great deal of outrage in Israel.