Hackers embed flashing animations on epilepsy support forum
By Darren Murph 
posted Mar 29th 2008 8:50PM
posted Mar 29th 2008 8:50PM
Shortly after hearing a sad tale of a 7-year old cancer patient having his medication and PSP stolen whilst en route to treatment comes yet another story of the world's meanest preying on the innocent. This go 'round, a group of griefers (which appear to be members of Anonymous) managed to invade a support forum established by the nonprofit Epilepsy Foundation and use JavaScript code and messages littered with flashing animations to effectively assault dozens of visitors who suffer from the disorder. The Foundation managed to catch wind of the problem within 12 hours of the attack, and while the boards were closed down temporarily to purge it of offending messages, many readers (such as RyAnne Fultz, pictured) experienced headaches and seizures before rescue arrived. Let's just say we sincerely hope the culprits get what's comin' to 'em.
You'd have to be really twisted to find the humor in this prank.
I'm deeply ashamed to say it, but I actually smiled at the headline.
I found humor in this prank
i too, found humor in this
I laughed, but felt bad afterwards.
@Nathan:
Were you hoping people would consider that punishment just, and thus rank your post higher?
Both of my siblings suffer from Epilepsy. It is absolutely amazing that I managed to escape most of their health problems (including that one).
That being said, I truly don't find any humor in this prank at all, particularly if it results in an injury as someone hits their head falling away from the computer monitor.
I have to agree. I have epilepsy and the person who did this deserves to do a face plant on the side walk and lose a few teeth.
Wheres the challenge in hacking a support forum anyways? Even if you don't take into account how scummy this is, boohoo, you hacked a forum. Stupid, unnecessary. hope the feds get in on this one and bust yo ass!
Asha
Well you better never stumble upon Myspace
My wife has epilepsy, and we both couldn't help but chuckle at this a little, and then felt bad after.
This prank is awful twisted, but what I found more twisted is the thoughts that run thru Nathan's head....
That's not funny at all. Definitely not in line with my sense of humor. I'm okay with laughing at un-politically correct things, but things like this which very seriously and dangerously affect innocent and real people are not okay with me.
My god. Words cannot express how disappointed i feel right now. Part of me wants to lash out in anger, but i know that will just get more people pissed.
I'm just so sad. The cruelty of this act against other people who have a sometimes debilitating medical condition is overwhelming. My insides feel like they were ripped up.
This is exactly the reason why we will NEVER have world peace.
Hey, group of hackers. If you happen to read this post (and i'm not sure that you will), please, i'm begging you, go back to stealing people's identities and files. Continue playing harmless pranks. But when you start messing with people in such a way that their bodies simply react without their control, you have crossed the line. This attack is much more than simply toying with people. Hackers have morals. Plain and simple. Everyone has a place to draw their line, whether it be mostly malicious or simply annoying. But what you have done here has crossed every moral boundary possible. You have toyed with a person's life, a life which has meaning and worth. A person can get new credit cards and change their passwords for online accounts, but there's no getting a life back once it's gone.
I know that you all probably think that you are just going to get away with this, and that there was no harm done. Still, this is simply taking advantage of a group of people who have a disease. This is the moral equivalent to torturing a kitten. It has no way to defend itself, and does not warrant the treatment.
Just answer me a few questions. Fist of all, why? Why did you decide to cause people physical harm? What have they ever done to you? Did your parents abuse you when you were young? Were you picked on in school? If so, this could explain your behavior towards those less fortunate.
It seems that it is true that power corrupts. I also believe that karma exists. You may believe that you are invincible, and that you are the best that ever was for playing such a prank. But at the end of the day, we all die, some sooner than others. Why not use your talents for good?
I just.......cannot understand. If any of you could explain your motives and tell why you decided to do such a thing, it would be much appreciated.
Mike(binary)
Give Nathan a break. I'm sure he doesn't really mean it. He's just talking out of anger which shows his heart's in the right place.
I sincerely hope they catch the guy who did it.
I laughed, then, like Professor Farnsworth, I realized that I made myself sad.
I fell bad about the people affected but I have to admit that I laughed a little. It's funny in a South Park way.
I didn't post what I did (which was removed, probably for the better) to get kudos or high ranks, I posted it because as a family member of someone WITH epilepsy I am deeply disturbed, nay irate, that people would do something like this to other people who cannot help their disorder, and could potentially be harmed or killed in an episode of severe seizing.
It's like tossing a sharp object to someone without arms then laughing when they can't catch it and get hurt. It's vile, and I hope that the parties responsible get their just desserts, and soon.
@Mike(binary): You should have stuck with the "Words cannot express how disappointed i feel right now."
LOOK!!! They're suffocating by swallowing their own tongues! Is that hilarious or what?
It is very scary and at the same time very sad that people think this is funny.
That aint Hacking that's just being a dick
I laughed so hard I fell of my chair and hit my head - I guess it's not so funny now.
Damn hackers! When I find them - I'm gonna give them epilepsy!
And why couldn't they hack someone like that Nigerian President
that wants me to pay him so he can give me $2,300,000.
That's just not right.
i'm not gonna lie. i laughed for a good 20 minutes about this story. so did my friend. we are bad people, but thanks to some hackers, entertained bad people.
@mike
We did it for the lulz.
lulzzzzz..
Rofl rofl rofl, Nice.
They're an hero's!
Ah, i see. So when someone burns down your house, they will do it for the lulz? hmmm. Very interesting.
Sickos.
Same with Drew... Even though it was a heartless attack, I found it quite funny.
Oh come on. If you know the history of both anonymous and scientology, then its unlikely to be an official action by either group. But if I were to bet on some members of one group Id be more likely to bet on anonymous. It fits their historical tactics more than scientologies historical tactics.
Thats the problem with being anonymous, and has been since before internet. You cannot create a recognized presence and be anonymous because anyone can be anonymous. Someone is bound to "join" and do things that will trash your reputation.
That is why the new anonymous is shifting to using the name "Legion". It better explains them, and seperates them from the old hacker anonymous.
Well, l experimented seizures after looking at that picture here.
gandalf:
are you serious? what sounds more likely:
a bunch of people from the group anonymous, who have stated that their war on scientology (their big cause) is purely ideological and will not result in any physical harm, attacking a group of people physically (more or less) who aren't even related to scientology,
OR
the church of scientology, who have a HUGE history of framing their critics, doing some evil bastardly thing and then framing their biggest opponent?
yes, they're leading questions, but they're right.
I didn't find humour in this prank, although I couldn't help but laugh at Drews comment "I laughed, but felt bad afterwards." I couldnt stop laughing for at least 5 seconds, maybe 6. I'm real tired I should go to bed. I had a seizure once (don't have epilepsy though) and they suck. Whoever pulled this prank is a dick and should be banned from writing code. They can drag and drop and much as they please but NO WRITING CODE!! Ok I seriously need to go to bed..
No doubt this was done by one of their own. Who would even know this site existed unless they were already a member? ...Think about it.
thats just messed up
Only because people were hurt, otherwise funny, no worse than something you would see on Family Guy or American Dad.
As they said in the article, it's just plain assault. Cowardly.
The hackers coulda just uploaded a video of Power Rangers.
You know what's messed up? Crap like this will be used as examples to introduce censorship and control methods for the iNet. Wait till Fox gets a hold of this and adds their BS spin to it.
@DP
I assume you realise that Family Guy and American Dad are both fictional and animated?
@ Twitchy - Yeah, because Fox is the only media company that takes a story and puts their own spin on it. CNN would NEVER do that.
"I assume you realise that Family Guy and American Dad are both fictional and animated?"
And not funny?
fucking bastards. i hope they get their's.
Somebody retaliate! Can you flash a blue screen at 60Hz?
Aren't blue screens always 60Hz? not that it matters on LCD monitors anyway.
Hacking:
Allowing the bullied to bully.
(official meaning of Hacking)
Goddammit Anonymous, how do I support you in your war against censorship when you do crap like this? I even double-checked the read link to make sure Engadget wasn't just throwing that in...
The real anonymous says on the boards.
The so called "anonymous" that go out and do this kind of shit, well, they're the cancer.
*stays on the boards
It might or might not have been anonymous, but then since Church of Scientology has a mantra of "destroy church's enemies through whatever means, legal or illegal, moral or immoral" and a history of actually taking that approach, I would think twice before blaming Anonymous.