In Senegal, protest also goes through digital

In Senegal, several websites, including that of the presidency, have been hacked by hackers who claim to support Ousmane Sonko.

It is a gap which, in Senegal, separates the power from the opposition. And this divide is also digital. At the start of 2021, a strong mobilization was launched on social networks, when riots broke out in the streets after the arrest of Ousmane Sonko. The Senegalese opponent seems to be comfortable with digital, just like his supporters.

After the latest events in Senegal — Ousmane Sonko launched his "caravan of freedom" from Ziguinchor, but the police finally took him in charge to transfer him to Dakar — the tone rose even further. gap between power and opposition.

Indeed, while clashes took place, it was on the web that the conflict between the Sonko clan and the Senegalese president was played out in part. An unprecedented cyberattack took place, it first affected the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, before it was finally restored.

This Monday, everything seems to be back to normal. But this may only be the beginning of operations. A Twitter account, baptized MysteriousTeamO, and who says he is based in Bangladesh and joins the Anonymous movement, indicated on May 26 that he wanted to “launch a massive cyberattack against” the Senegalese authorities.

Other sites affected

The threats were apparently carried out. Especially since the famous MysteriousTeamO is planning a new wave of attacks. The site of Youssou N'Dour's GFM media group and that of La Poste were also attacked. Having “not yet read a statement from the government”, the web hackers are asking the government if it wants to see its “cyberspace destroyed”.

But what are hackers really looking for? It all started with a rather surprising event: while he was heading towards Dakar, Ousmane Sonko disappeared for a time. The opponent, before giving a sign of life, had been prevented from communicating with his militants. The Pastef then warned the media. The hackers, meanwhile, gave the government 24 hours to "find or release Sonko" and promised a "surprise" in the event of no government statement.

On the ground, the battle has already been deadly: a 37-year-old man was shot and killed. But Senegal is, above all, not prepared for large-scale digital operations. If, in the street, "the State of Senegal will be firm", assures the government, it is on the web that the next challenge could take place. And the authorities already seem distraught.

At the end of last year, a group of hackers threatened to leak more than 100 GB of “sensitive data”. Last week, Papa Guèye, police commissioner specializing in cybersecurity, affirmed “the need to invest significantly in research, innovation and creation to deal with the risks associated with cybercrime and protect data”. He didn't believe so well...