The official websites of Slovakia’s Government Office and the Economy Ministry were inaccessible for a couple of hours on the evening of January 28 evening after apparently being hacked by the Anonymous movement. Earlier the group said it had hacked the webpage of Prima Banka (former Dexia Banka) that is owned by the Penta financial group as well as the internet site of the civic association 99 percent, the TASR newswire reported.
The group said that it had attacked the sites in order to demonstrate its disapproval of the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) which is aimed at enforcing copyrights and dealing with counterfeit products.
“This agreement will limit our rights and freedoms,” stated the representatives of the Anonymous movement, as quoted by TASR. “It will lead to more censorship of the internet. Downloading copies will be illegal, and customs officers will be allowed to look through the files on your computers.”
After the hackers attacked the sites, the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party expressed its negative stance towards the new agreement, saying that if the agreement violates the basic rights and freedoms of the individual, they will not support it, the Sme daily reported.
The new treaty has also been criticised by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) who said they would like to discuss the measure, Sme wrote.
The ACTA agreement, which was passed during the session of the ministers of agriculture of the European Union at the end of 2011, has already been signed by 22 countries. Though Slovakia has not signed it yet the ratification process is planned to start in coming weeks.
Source: TASR, Sme
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
