Pierluigi Paganini March 09, 2020

Revista Factum was under prolonged cyber attacks for denouncing corruption, the government of El Salvador had banned it.

• The government of El Salvador had banned Factum Magazine from attending its press conferences and was subjecting them to a smear campaign
• The alleged perpetrator of the attacks has been identified as a computer engineer acting, from the University of Oriente, El Salvador
• University denies Qurium Media Foundation access to forensics evidence

The intense cyber attacks in October last year, cost the news site almost a week’s downtime. According to the Salvadoran magazine Factum, this was one of the consequences for investigating the contradictions and lack of transparency of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. The attacks were part of a wider campaign to discredit the media.

Prior to the cyber attacks, journalists had been harassed on social networks by people close to the government and had not been allowed to enter press conferences at the Presidential House. On 13 October, the Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks started, and on the third day, when the magazine’s website went offline, a businessman placed a paid advertisement in the press claiming to have bribed the news outlets’ editor. The magazine responded to the accusations in social media as they were not able to defend itself on its own website.

Qurium’s forensics investigation attributes the attacks and places the attacker at the Universidad de Oriente (UNIVO). The university collaborated by identifying the person and the machine from which the attacks were carried out. From this point on, the university did not want to provide more evidence to the investigation. A notarial document signed by the attacker released the university from all responsibility.

Original post available at:

https://www.qurium.org/press-releases/revista-factum-suffered-week-long-cyber-attacks-for-denouncing-corruption-by-the-president-of-el-salvador/

Qurium’s forensics report: DDoS attacks against Salvadoran “Factum Magazine” in El Salvador attributed to University infrastructure

Factum report Magazine: Universidad de Oriente involved in cyberattacks against Factum Magazine

About the authors – Contacts:

Forensic report: Tord Lundström, Qurium Media Foundation < t@virtualroad.org >

Media: Clara Zid, Qurium Media Foundation < info@virtualroad.org >

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Revista Factum)

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