Hackers Shut Down Vatican Website

By Anonymous -
Rome -- Hackers are claiming to have shut down the website for the Catholic Church Wednesday.

Vatican.va, the official website of the Holy See, was not operational Wednesday afternoon.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed to CNN the site was hacked, but said it would be "fully operational" again shortly.



Anonymous, a loosely-knit international hacking group, claimed responsibility for the church website shutdown.

"Anonymous has now decided to lay siege to your site in response to the doctrines, liturgies and the precepts, absurd and anachronistic, that your organization, (which) is for profit, propagates and spreads worldwide," a statement in Italian on the blog "ufficiale di Anonymous Italia" read.

"This is NOT intended to attack the Christian religion or against the faithful around the world, but to the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church and all its emanations," the statement added.

A longtime follower of Anonymous who is in touch with the hackers involved and who has knowledge of the plan told CNN that hackers within Anonymous Italy and AntiSec were responsible for shutdown of the church website. AntiSec Anons describe themselves as the "special forces" of the collective.

The source confirmed the statement on the Italian hacker's website.

"It's not a personal attack on Christians, just on the Vatican itself," said the source, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their identity from the group.

Anonymous Italy also cited the Catholic Church's teachings on birth control and abortion and the way it handled widespread sexual abuse scandals as other reasons for the hacking.

The U.S. arm of the Anonymous hacking group has targeted government agencies and corporations before but not religious organizations. The group claimed responsibility for hacking into an FBI phone call with their Irish counterparts and cyberstrikes between December 2010 and June 2011 that included denial of service attacks against the websites of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.

A denial of service (DoS) attack typically involves the use of a large number of computers to bombard websites with phony requests for information, causing the site to temporarily shut down.

On Tuesday, top members of the computer hacker group and its offshoots were arrested and charged after a wide-ranging investigation which was assisted by a group leader working as a secret government informant. The FBI informant, "Sabu," was a part of the elite AntiSec hackers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting. You email address and IP Address has been recorded for future reference. any anonymous comment which is deemed abusive will be removed and investigated for further action.

Popular posts from this blog

FOX NEWS HOST REFUSES TO BOARD PLANE WITH BLACK FEMALE PILOT

By Anonymous -
conservative commentator and author Ann Coulter has lost her mind! She refused to stay on board a Miami to New York flight after learning the pilot was a Black woman. According to witnesses, Coulter was concerned the experienced, decorated pilot may have gained her position as a result of affirmative action and wasn’t fully qualified to fly. The incident began when Coulter boarded the American Airlines flight and took up her first class seat. After a trip to the bathroom, she noticed the pilot was a black woman and became immediately distraught. According to passengers, at that point Coulter stood at the front of the cabin and began screaming her concerns to the entire flight as they finished boarding. “Aw come on people, a black woman flying a plane? You know she got that job through affirmative action. Am I the only one worried about this? I mean hello? Our lives are at stake here…” The confused passengers weren’t sure what to make of Coulter’s outburst, and rema
Read more

MOM & 12 KIDS HOMELESS AFTER FAKE LANDLORD SCAM

By Anonymous -
Image
After pouring thousands of dollars into her decrepit house, Tocco Collins made the heartbreaking discovery that she had been seriously scammed. The mother of 12 had waited patiently for her landlords to deliver on their promises to fix the house’s holes, broken windows and burned out light box, CBS Atlanta reports. But after seven months, Collins learned that the phonies she had been paying $600 a month in rent didn’t own the home and had also skipped town. The actual owner had no idea her home was being rented out. “Step by step, I’m trying to make some effort,” Collins told the news outlet. “Right now I’m lost.” The Atlanta mother and her children are now homeless. They’re also at risk of getting broken up by child services, a devastating fate that do-gooders are trying to prevent. Members of Occupy Atlanta are raising money for the family to buy a new home, and volunteers said they would help renovate the new residence after it’s secured. Getting duped by a
Read more

Run-D.M.C. Producer Larry Smith Dead at 63

By Anonymous -
Image
Larry Smith, producer of some of the most cherished hip-hop records of the Eighties, including Run-D.M.C. 's first two albums, died Thursday at the age of 63. Radio host Combat Jack broke the news on Twitter , writing: "Just spoke to his family. RIP Larry Smith, the original King of Beats who passed away last night." A Queens native, Smith began his career as a session musician and quickly struck up a partnership with Kurtis Blow after playing bass on "Christmas Rappin'."  Smith would continue to play on a number of Blow's tracks, co-writing a few as well, including the MC's breakthrough record, "The Breaks,"  which became the first rap record to be certified gold. Smith then began working with Blow's manager at the time, Russell Simmons. The two co-produced a handful of tracks for Jimmy Spicer – including the oft-sampled "Money (Dollar Bill Y'All)"  – before helping make hip-hop history with Run-D.M.C.'s
Read more