Bangkok -
The official websites of Singapore's prime minister and president were hacked, the government said on Friday, with members of the activist group Anonymous believed to be responsible.
Sub-pages on the websites were “compromised” around midnight, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said on its Facebook page.
The attacks came after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday said the government would “spare no effort” in hunting down hackers who had threatened to target the city-state's infrastructure.
“It's great to be Singaporean today,” read a headline on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) website, next to an image of a Guy Fawkes mask, the symbol of Anonymous, Channel News Asia reported.
The president's website, Istana.gov.sg, was also hacked. “Istana” is a Malay word meaning palace, and refers to the official residence of the president.
“Both the PMO and Istana main websites are still working, and we will restore the compromised pages as soon as possible,” said the IDA statement. “The matter is under investigation. We will continue to strengthen all government websites.”
Anonymous last week threatened to target key infrastructure in Singapore in protest against the government's new rules for online media, which critics say threaten freedom of speech. - Sapa-dpa