Cyber Attack Protest Against Lenovo and Superfish

On 20 February 2015, we reported on the PC maker Lenovo pre-installing Superfish Adware (a programme that injects third-party ads on Google searches and websites without the user's permission) on its laptops which numerous users had complained about as it caused unwanted pop ups and adverts to appear on the screens.

Since that report, on 25 February 2015, a group known as 'Lizard Squad' made their protests regarding the Superfish situation by hacking into Lenovo's website for several hours. Anybody trying to access the site would have instead been redirected and greeted by a slideshow showing bored teenagers to the soundtrack Breaking Free taken from the High School Musical. Users were redirected to a Twitter account of the group Lizard Squad.

The protest appeared to be in aid of proving to Lenovo that the breach of security is not only a high security risk but an infuriating experience. The protest demonstrated how easy it could be to hack into websites in order to utilise for own purposes or in this case, own demonstrations.

Lenovo has since recognised that in order to regain their reputation, they need to reassess their network security and take measures to protect their client's information as well as their own. The Chief Technology Officer for Lenovo has confirmed that they intend to make plans to ensure that their security measures are not breached again in the future.