CYBERSPACE – According to reports in the Israeli media, a group of “ultra-orthodox hackers,” upset by graphic porn sites, has launched a campaign to crash websites they find particularly objectionable.The hackers, coined in some web forums as the “ultra-orthodox sex commandos” and the “ultra-orthodox electronic underground” have focused their efforts on bringing down Hebrew adult sites, thus far.

According to media reports, the first site targeted was sexhack.tk – described as a small, “not very popular” adult video site. Once they had compromised the server, hackers allegedly replaced the sexually-explicit pages of the site with images of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh rabbi of Chabad Lubavitch.

Those visiting the site during the breach were greeted not with porn images but, instead, by a picture of the conservative rabbi, along with a caption that read “We, the religious-net group, hacked into this site and erased all obscenities. The other sites we plan on bringing down are listed below.”

The hackers also included a warning of sorts, writing that “the holy kabbalah warns that the sin of spilling sperm in vain is the cause for most diseases and misfortune!”

According to various Israeli media sources, there are approximately 40 porn sites and 20 “sex-related forums” operating in Israel today. The orthodox hacker group allegedly tried to compromise sites other than sexhack.tk, as well, but with little success.

An ultra-orthodox website, “Shofar”, was also hacked last week in an attack during which the religious content of the site was replaced by anti-censorship text and slogans. It is not clear at this time whether the Shofar hack was a response to the actions of the orthodox hacking group or an unconnected incident.