The website of the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA) has been defaced by a hacker team identifying themselves as “TeaM MaDLeeTs. The home page of the site (www.nira.org.ng

) is fine but the defacers have added a new webpage (www.nira.org.ng/1337.html) where you can see the defacing.

In case you were wondering, 1337 (or ‘leet’ or ‘leetspeak’) is an alternative internet language that uses ASCII characters to replace standard Latin letters. The term “leet” is also used to signify accomplishment in video games and hacking.

This is not the first time a website belonging to the Nigerian government or an associated agency has been defaced in this manner. This attack, however, does cast even more aspersions on NIRA, an organisation that has faced multiple criticisms for its handling of various issues, including the sale and maintenance of the .ng domain.

Seyi Taylor Author

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