After targeting the central bank and a government agency this week, the hackers collective Anonymous México is predicted to carry out more cyberattacks in the coming days.

Ethical hackers – people who hack into a computer network to evaluate its security rather than with malicious or criminal intent – who spoke with the newspaper El Financiero said that Anonymous México has a list of federal government and private company websites that it plans to attack.

They said one of the purposes of the attacks is to expose the weakness of IT security in Mexico.

Among the websites and/or computer systems Anonymous intends to attack, according to the ethical hackers, are those of the Finance Ministry and the main government portal (www.gob.mx).

They also said the hacking group plans to disrupt President López Obrador’s morning press conference (exactly how is unclear) and carry out attacks on the websites of the BBVA bank and Soriana supermarket chain, among other companies.

The warning comes after Anonymous claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on the websites of the financial consumer protection agency Condusef and the Bank of México, also known as Banxico.

Anonymous left a message on the Condusef site on Monday that was directed to AMLO, as the president is commonly known, and warned of an impending attack on the central bank portal.

“AMLO, we’re sick of it. Condusef doesn’t respond to us about what you and your lackeys do. This is the first of many … citizens’ complaints. Our [next] target will be Banxico and we will leak [information about] the large quantities [of money] you triangulate among your minions!! … In your morning press conference, we’ll hit you with everything!!” said the group’s message.

Condusef chief Óscar Rosado Jiménez confirmed the cyberattack but said that none of the agency’s information was compromised.

A day later, the Bank of México said that its website was targeted by hackers at about 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. The bank said in a statement that the hacking attempt caused problems on the site for approximately 30 minutes.

The statement said that the “protection mechanisms and protocols established by the Bank of México for these kinds of circumstances prevented impacts on its financial market processes and payment systems.”

It also said that the central bank’s information and that of other financial institutions was not compromised.

Anonymous México, an offshoot of the international activist/hactivist collective Anonymous, also claimed responsibility for an attack last month on the website of the national anti-discrimination council Conapred.

Source: El Financiero (sp), El Economista (sp)