Russian hackers disable propertyzote.com

July 15, 2010 - PRLog -- http://www.propertyzote.com  was hacked 8 days ago in an attempt to extract vital data and information. The hackers corrupted and completely shut down the website.  

Propertyzote.com founder Kaptich says that … “it appears hackers from a Russian IP address somehow managed to log onto admin section of propertyzote.com and  upload a Malware script  code which completely disabled the website” ….

Propertyzote.com was inaccessible for almost 7 days and cost the company valuable downtime. Previously, Propertyzote had a clean record with minimal downtime for the last 3 years.
Kaptich said that the hacking was unprecedented and unfortunate considering that the dotcom industry in East Africa is still on a on a growth face.  

Indeed, there is a dramatic increase of Hacking of Kenyan websites.  
In the past year the following websites have been hacked.

■StateHouse.co.ke which is the Presidents personal website.
■Capitalfm.co.ke which is one of Kenya ’s leading radio websites.
■EquityBank.co.ke which was cloned by Nigerian scammers [See Proof]

Rumour has it that the most famous hack was in 2008 when the Department of Defence was attempting to transfer money to Ukrainian arms dealers over unsecured protocols (specifically http) when the money (in Billions) got intercepted by Russian hackers who presumably proceeded to have to largest party ever courtesy of Kenyan tax payers.  

Propertyzote senior programmer Vibhasha said that they have taken the security breach serious and have officially written to the Kenyan High commission in Canberra to highlight about the increased threat of internet security targeting Kenyan websites.

Propertyzote announced it has further put all safety measures in place to avoid similar problem from happening again in future. It has also has sent out a memo to all its 460 agents advising them to improve internet security by doing below;
 
•   Update firewall and antivirus software programs to protect the PCs from hackers.
•   Keep passwords safe and secure
•   Change passwords atleast every 3 months
•   Abstain from opening any suspicious mail
•   Raising any concerns, informing or suspicion to authorities.  
•   Turning computer off or disconnect it from the Internet when not using it.

Kaptich concludes that it’s about time the business, government and industry groups took internet security seriously. Hacking attacks can range from mildly annoying or just disruptive, or they can threaten finances and even the security of people and the country. Propertyzote has now been restored and no valuable data was lost.

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Propertyzote.com is an online property website for east africa region. It deals with residential and commercial real estate for rent, buy, sell, share or rent. It offers free property listing for the first 4 months to real estate agents.