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French websites vandalized by Islamic State sympathizers

A screen capture shows a the aftermath of a cyber attack on a French website Thursday evening. A group sympathetic to the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack. [Photo: The Desk]
A screen capture shows a the aftermath of a cyber attack on a French website Thursday evening. A group sympathetic to the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack. [Photo: The Desk]
Several French websites have been vandalized after falling victim to a purported cyber campaign by individuals sympathetic to the Islamic State militia.

The affected websites included a portal for a French resort town and a site used by a small business union.

A message posted on the defaced websites said the pages had been compromised by a group calling itself “L’APoca-Dz.” The vandalism included a message in English that read “Free Plaestine, Death to France, Death to Charlie.”

The last line appears to be directed at Charlie Hebdo, a French-language satirical magazine whose staff was targeted by two masked assailants in an attack on Wednesday. Twelve people, including nine magazine staff members, died in the attack.