December 18, 2002

A Kuwaiti hacker, who uses the online alias Koko, is being hailed as a national hero for hacking into, and disabling, the web site of the Iraqi Information Ministry. Iraqis were outraged at a recent speech by Saddam Hussein in which he "apologized" for invading Kuwait in 1990. Kuwaitis found the speech condescending, deceptive and insulting. Kuwait has a well educated and enterprising population, and many young Kuwaitis have taken to the Internet and programming. Most Kuwaiti hacking in the past has been against Israeli, American and British web sites. Kuwait, unlike its neighbors Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, allows free access to the Internet.