Alleged hacktivists arrested for hacking Singapore websites

A number of people have been arrested in connection to the recent attacks on Singapore websites, including a man that’s said to be “The Messiah,” the hacker who breached The Straits Times.

The Messiah is believed to be 35-year-old James Raj Arokiasamy who was arrested on November 4 by Malaysian authorities. According to The Straits Times, he was handed over to Singapore police the next day.

The suspect is said to have been involved not only in the cyberattack against The Straits Times, but also in the ones against the website of the co-founder of the City Harvest Church, and the People’s Action Party Community Foundation. The attacks were launched from an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Interestingly, Raj has been on the run since 2011 when he was charged for offenses related to drugs. For the hacking-related crimes, the man faces up to three years in prison and/or a $10,000 (€7,500) fine.

He’s not the only one identified by authorities in connection to the recent cyberattacks in Singapore.

Five others have been questioned by police regarding the recent attacks. However, their cases are not related to the one against Raj.

Two of them, brothers, are suspected of being involved in the attack against the Prime Minister’s Office. They have been released on bail. A third individual is also helping with the investigation into the PMO website “defacement.”

Two suspects, aged 17 and 45, have been questioned regarding the cyberattack on the website of the presidency. They haven’t been detained.

It’s worth noting that the websites of the presidency and of the prime minister haven’t actually been hacked. The attackers exploited cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities to make it look as if the sites had been defaced.

Right after Anonymous hacktivists published a statement threatening the Singapore government, the country’s prime minister warned hackers that they would be tracked down.