Fijian disaster management site hacked

Hunt3rxm replaced the website's usual disaster updates with the above message (Getty)
Hunt3rxm replaced the website's usual disaster updates with the above message (Getty)

A hacker known as Hunt3rxm has accessed the Fijian National Disaster Management Office website and replaced its usual content with their own message.

The website, which has been of great interest as Cyclone Winston batters the Pacific Island nation, had provided up-to-date information on the disaster, but that was replaced with a simple message that read "Hacked by Hunt3rxm" earlier today.

The hack was discovered by IT security company Special Tactics Ltd.

"The site was probably hacked as a result of attention focused on the impact of Cyclone Winston on Fiji," says Special Tactics Ltd managing director Daniel Ayers.

"It is unfortunate that government agencies dealing with a natural disaster have their work disrupted by malicious idiot hackers."

Cyber attacks are becoming more commonplace following natural disasters, with New Zealand's Civil Defence website also a victim of hacking during the Christchurch earthquakes.

Mr Ayers says another attempted hack on the website should not come as a surprise, particularly as the quake is being commemorated.

"Given that today is the fifth anniversary of the February 2011 quake and due to our proximity with Fiji, there may be an elevated cyber security risk in the New Zealand civil defence sector at present," he says.

Newshub.