EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Oh, the irony. A controversial cybercrime bill, waiting to be approved or vetoed by Georgia’s governor, has sparked a series of cyberattacks. The controversy stems from the broad scope of the proposed law, which could criminalize white hat hackers and other noncybercriminals.

As Cyber Talk reported in February, “A bill designed to stop criminal hacking could also end up snagging those who would fall into the category of noncriminals: people who use their work computers for personal reasons or provide fake information on websites–even if that information is as simple as one’s age or weight.”

The bill in question is Senate Bill 315. The hacktivist group is calling itself SB315. It’s unclear to what extent the hacker group has inflicted damage. According to CSO, SB315 claimed to have attacked the city of Augusta, Georgia Southern University, the August Calvary Baptist Church, and two restaurants.

The city of August denied that it had been attacked, as did the university. When the cyberattackers produced data it claimed to have captured in the process, both institutions invalidated the hackers’ proof. “The two restaurants, however, which happen to have the same owner and use the same website designer — the same one the church used — were clearly defaced,” reports CSO.

The defacement included a link to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has been active in its criticism of Senate Bill 315. According to CSO, the message left on the defaced websites stated “This vulnerability could not be ethically reported due to SB 315.”

Get the full story at CSO.