According to a report in The Telegraph:
... as the first particles were circulating in the machine near Geneva, a Greek group had hacked into the facility and displayed a page with the headline "GST: Greek Security Team."
The people responsible signed off: "We are 2600 - dont mess with us. (sic)"
The website - cmsmon.cern.ch - can no longer be accessed by the public as a result of the attack.
Scientists working at Cern, the organisation that runs the vast smasher, were worried about what the hackers could do because they were "one step away" from the computer control system of one of the huge detectors of the machine, a vast magnet that weighs 12,500 tons, measuring around 21 metres in length and 15 metres wide/high.
If they had hacked into a second computer network, they could have turned off parts of the vast detector and, said the insider, "it is hard enough to make these things work if no one is messing with it."
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An air-gap is the only way to prevent these break-ins. CIA Factbook is on line but I doubt any of their other material is connected to the greater internet.
The moniker "Greek" doesn't necessarily indicate nationality, they could be referring to a sexual preference. Whatever the source, it describes the dearth of civility among the greater population. Gee, let's go contaminate scientific investigations simply because we can.
The CIA is not connected to the internet directly, that is correct.
Yikes. CERN should know better than to have any science instrumentation hooked up to the same computer that hosts the website. Bandwidth and hosting are very cheap these days, so probably the best idea is to have a reputable outside hosting company manage the public site far away from the actual accelerator machinery.
I ran the text through Babelfish and got this:
This hour you become the attempt of experiment in the CERN. The reason that we chose this page they is in order to we remind you certain things. Did not become base of [chapoias] our juxtaposition of CERN other with base the big [episkepsimotita] that will acquire the next 24 hour the particular [diadiktyakos] place reason of experiment. Certain elements [ap]'? the base The ** simply entered in order to we do not expose [chosmo] any us is not to blaim in nothing As we wrote and in the preface we have aim to spoil the system to destroy site Aim our they is to show our factual [antirasi] in a lot of members of "? [energis]"? GHS whoever [kabalisei] the cane without it offers idiot cliques are simply created only and only in order to [trampoykizoyn] verbally with exclusions from his channels IRC individuals that are not considered (their their [ap] same and [tsirakia]) worthy his their knowledge and image their. [Kapoi] other of 1337 scene only that make are [koybentoyla] and [kafedaki] and from action nothing after in the gossip they have [efesi] other than safety what they is this? we are 2600... don't mess with us. IRRELEVANT AND GRAPHIC!! Leave the shawls and the licks and touch [kana] ---- But certain the criticism they is easy specifically when you have around you many 20 [chrona] [apoita] skiddies [psellizoyn] "? 2600"? - "? 2600". Ram itself in insomnia.gr and begin [thabetai] with your best spade other only that and this from under will bring her seal GST. We are everywhere why in opposition with you we the evenings him we don't pass writing [stichakia] the "? [rapparontas]"? in wide nor [koroideyontas] what we cannot lean You [xebrakoonoyme] because we do not want you to see running all [panikoblitoi] and naked searching him that be hidden and because simply we are not as and you. It would be supposed as you wait for the answer [stan] [koroideyate] things that never you had not thought of making other enough we dealt with [matso] [scholiaropaida] that learned hacking means [ap] his films hollywood and his idiot American culture new geek that it reads periodically for hacking while it tries it breaks email [gkomenas] his it sees [an] it deceives him it is burned it has also linux dual boot in order to [psaronei] his friends that read also they periodically her new hack fury. The all Greek internet they is [trypio] certain from bigger government owned site they do not even know the term of safety after they give in irrelevant companies the designing WITH THE FAVOURS YOU DO NOT BECOME SAFETY. We are everywhere We greet the real amateur and lovers of art of computers. Certain old that abandoned him why [barethikan] and they were tired no with this art other with [komplex] all the "? [eidikon]"? the space!! And the young persons that without a lot of reasons work with [okymmeno] the head because what [noiazei] they is the knowledge their - only this!! Dear admins their CERN we closed to you most serious BUG that had your page in order that it is not changed in Dork and become each day deface with [paparia] each one wannabe hacker. Not you search us We will find for you we very shortly!!!!
All your Higgs are belong to us.
I bet the detectors get a bit sad when they are called big magnets...