April 16--The website for the National Museum of Mexican Art was hacked and replaced with a message from a "Hacker of Islam."
The hacked message, along with a song, appeared on the site's home page, but everything appeared to be back to normal just before 10 a.m. Thursday.
Those visiting the site in the past 24 hours to learn more about the Pilsen museum's offerings of Mexican and Hispanic art and culture were greeted by a black screen that read "Muslim Hacker."
The message stated that the hacker is proud to be a male follower of Islam.
It also offered a "special (expletive)" to "Israhell" as well as the U.S., Iran, India, France and "Haterz : )."
Museum officials first noticed the hack late Wednesday morning, according to chief curator Cesareo Moreno.
The museum is hosting an event Friday and officials were inundated with calls Wednesday saying that something was wrong with the website.
"It's really, really bizarre," Moreno said.
The museum's IT staff was called in to get the site fixed, and Chicago police were contacted, he said.
"I know it's a serious matter because of who supposedly hacked it," he said. "It could just be a prank, and the police did say that."
Chicago police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The museum website's hack is uncharted territory, he said, and the whole thing is discomfiting.
Hackers working in support of Islamic extremists have knocked out a variety of sites worldwide in recent months, including the global broadcast network of a French television station earlier this month. An Alabama nonprofit and the website of a British pub have been taken over in a similar fashion this week.
"We are taking it very seriously, and we are learning how you handle a situation like this," Moreno said. "It's totally new for us."
geoffz@tribpub.com
