20. 02. 2013

ANEM PROTESTS AGAINST HACKING ATTACK ON THE WEBSITE OF PIROT-BASED RADIO PLUS

Belgrade, February 20, 2013 - The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemns the hacking attack against the website of the Pirot-based station Radio Plus by Albanian hackers.

A press statement issued by Radio Plus says that the Albanian hackers attacked the website www.plusonline.rs during the night of February 20, 2013 and posted on its homepage a map of so-called United Albanian States.

ANEM warns that promotion of extremist viewpoints, as well as the prevention and lack of open dialog and public debate on all open issues, cannot contribute to the better future of all people living in Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, regardless of their nationality.

ANEM points out that acts like this one create an atmosphere in which the media are prevented from performing their role in a professional manner. ANEM also emphasizes that the attacked media outlet from Southern Serbia plays a very significant part in informing the public and that it is committed to objective and unbiased reporting of all citizens of Serbia, regardless of their nationality, religion or any other characteristic. As a member of ANEM, the station adheres to highest professional and ethical standards, especially in the field of human rights.

ANEM demands that the authorities, especially the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Special Prosecutor's Office for High Technology Crime, within their fields of competence, take all measures that would prevent such attacks, taking into account the fact that media outlets do not have financial or technical resources to defend themselves against this form of sophisticated crime.

ANEM also calls on the authorities to adopt the Law on Information Security and form a CERT team that would offer legal and technical support in relation to all security threats against computer networks, especially with regard to hacking attacks.

ANEM President, Sasa Mirkovic