Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

This is an analysis of the hacker who calls them-self “Māori” who inserted a disk wiping code into the alleged Christchurch mosques alleged shooter’s manifesto.

It is not the first time we have seen a vigilante Māori hacker(s) appear from the dark and then dissapear again. The first time a Māori hacker gained international attention was in 2002 with Bionicle web site being attacked for cultural appropriation – Wired – Scoop.

This person is likely to be a very intelligent,  highly technically skilled person with an advanced background in digital security. This person is not your average web developer and likely socially inept.

The dossier.

The Chief Censor of the Office of Film & Literature Classification in New Zealand, Mr David Shanks declared the 74-page document as objectionable – meaning it’s now an offence in New Zealand to share or even possess a copy of it. This has lead to white supremacists using the so called “Dark Web” to distribute the dossier where it is anonymous and much criminal activity occurs.

The key difference with the weaponised version of the document and the original is the introduction of the a face with a full tā moko on page 3 which is available from the web but referred to as being an Amazon design.

In my opinion the Māori hacker is a white hat hacker. The hacker has a sense of social justice and is using their own superior technical skills to enforce a law in a part of cyber space that has no law.

How the attack works

Disguised as a Word document is an executable program termed by security analyst company Blue Hexagon as “Trojan Haka”. Haka can be defined as a Māori war dance and expression of emotions, often performed by our All Blacks prior to a game. The haka was also popular by people at memorials to remember the victims of the terrorist attack in Christchurch.

When the file is clicked on, it forces a system reboot that ends with a black screen featuring a message in red writing: “This is not us!”

Retribution

As with the Bionicle attack, popular Māori web sites were attacked in retaliation. I notice when ever I speak out on issues in the media, my security log bulges with unauthorized access attempts. But I don’t think we will see too much retaliation in this case.

Online safety

This is an opportunity for everyone to be cautious online, use virus protection and to not open files from strangers. Remember that in New Zealand if you see offensive materials online contact NetSafe.