The B.C. government says there is no evidence the websites for two MLAs were cyberattacked by the hacker collective Anonymous.
The blog website Operation Green Rights, which claims to be affiliated with Anonymous, posted two screenshots Monday appearing to show denial-of service attacks launched on the MLA websites for Environment Minister Mary Polak and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett.
But a government spokesperson told CTV News there was no evidence to suggest their network was impacted by the alleged cyberattack.
A denial-of-service attack occurs when a sudden surge of online traffic is sent to a website, flooding its network and forcing it to crash.
The group said it was taking aim at the Ministry of Environment over its perceived mishandling of a contaminated soil dump at Shawnigan Lake.
The South Islands Aggregates site has been a point of contention between the Ministry of Environment, which issued the permit for the dump, and residents who say it puts their drinking watershed at risk.
“You endorsed the dumping of five million tonnes of contaminated soils over a 50 year period into a watershed still pristine enough to support safe drinking water for over 12,000 residents, a fish bearing lake, and a stream that supports spawning Coho salmon,” the post says.
It issued a vague threat to the dump’s owners and affiliated businesses, saying those who choose to remain involved “should expect us.”
The post is ended with the group’s trademark signoff, “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.”
The Office of the Chief Information Officer says it is aware of the group’s post and monitoring the situation.
According to its website, Operation Green Rights is a new faction of Anonymous that “wants for our children a life in a civilized world that welcomes them with open arms and show respect for life and nature itself.”
