Hackers from Anonymous collective strike websites of Greek government for third time since February
Hackers from Anonymous collective strike websites of Greek government for third time since February anonops

Hackers associated with the Anonymous collective targeted the servers of Greece's Finance Ministry in a protest against government plans to fight tax evasion.

The incident is the third attack by hacktivists on Greek government websites in the past two months. On 13 February, Hackers took down websites belonging to the country's prime minister, along with those of the police and parliament as violence erupted in Athens against austerity measures approved by parliament.

Following the arrest of three young Anonymous hackers in Greece, on 22 February the collective attacked the website of the Ministry of Justice, defacing its homepage.

The latest attack was triggered by a government decision to fight tax evasion by tracking households' bank, telephone and credit card details to detect those who spend more money than they legally declare on their tax statements, according to a Reuters report.

"To them, you are just economic indicators, deficits and balance sheets - but there are no indicators for misery," a statement by Anonymous said on a finance ministry website.

Earlier in January, Anonymous launched Operation Greece against the government's austerity measures and its signing of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

"We watch every day your government abolishing the constitution and institutions of the country," said a statement announcing the cyber attack. "We watch them delivering the country to the IMF and the bankers," the group added. "The Republic in Greece has died."

More information about Anonymous's latest activities can be found on the IBTimes UK's Cyber Warfare section.