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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> WikiLeaks Supporters Launch Cyber Attack on Amazon , Facebook Next ? ( FoxNews )...</span>
Online retailer Amazon was set to be the next cyber attack victim Thursday following its decision to remove WikiLeaks from its servers, as hackers pledged their support for the site and its founder, Julian Assange. "Anonymous," a group who claimed responsibility for attacks on MasterCard, PayPal and Visa, announced the move on Twitter, writing, "Target: www.amazon.com locked on!!!" It also gave a link to instructions on how to attack the website.The attack was expected to come shortly after a spokesman for the group also told Sky News that Facebook could be the next target. The social networking site had deleted Facebook accounts used by Anonymous as well as groups it used to contact its supporters.The hackers launched "Operation Payback" Tuesday -- a series of denial of service attacks (DDoS), after various groups blocked funding to the WikiLeaks site.The group said thousands of volunteers had joined their operation in defense of WikiLeaks and Assange. The Australian is being detained in London pending an extradition request from Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations. The Swedish government's website was shut down for several hours overnight during a cyber attack, while a website bearing Justice Minister Beatrice Ask's name was set up and visitors were redirected to the WikiLeaks site, Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper reported.Sarah Palin, Visa and MasterCard came under attack Wednesday when Anonymous hacked their websites, causing them to briefly go offline or slow down.A spokesperson for Visa Europe told Sky News that cardholders' data was not vulnerable and transactions and purchases were not stopped. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, however there is no impact whatsoever in making a payment with Visa either online or in store," Visa said.MasterCard's spokesperson said it had made "significant progress" in restoring full service to its corporate website. "Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk."The website and email service of the lawyer representing two Swedish women at the center of sexual assault allegations against Assange were also hacked Tuesday.A WikiLeaks supporter, calling himself Coldblood, told the BBC on Thursday: "This is a war of data, we are trying to keep the internet open and free for everyone, just the way the internet has been and always was ... Some of the main targets involve Amazon, Mastercard, Visa and PayPal."Although Coldblood had said he was a spokesman for Anonymous, the group wrote on Twitter that he was not one of its spokespeople.PayPal's website, which was hit by an attempted DDoS attack on Monday morning, was now fully operational, a spokesperson said, adding, "The attack slowed the website itself down for a short while, but did not significantly impact payments."Assange's supporters have vowed his arrest would not halt the flow of WikiLeaks' release of the diplomatic cables. On the Twitter feed for Operation: Payback's, a cyberattack campaign targeting the perceived opponents of WikiLeaks, the next target is highlighted: Amazon.com.Photo Credit: (FoxNews)http://www.amazon.com
<span style="font-weight: bold"> WikiLeaks Supporters Launch Cyber Attack on Amazon , Facebook Next ? ( FoxNews )...</span>
Online retailer Amazon was set to be the next cyber attack victim Thursday following its decision to remove WikiLeaks from its servers, as hackers pledged their support for the site and its founder, Julian Assange. "Anonymous," a group who claimed responsibility for attacks on MasterCard, PayPal and Visa, announced the move on Twitter, writing, "Target: www.amazon.com locked on!!!" It also gave a link to instructions on how to attack the website.The attack was expected to come shortly after a spokesman for the group also told Sky News that Facebook could be the next target. The social networking site had deleted Facebook accounts used by Anonymous as well as groups it used to contact its supporters.The hackers launched "Operation Payback" Tuesday -- a series of denial of service attacks (DDoS), after various groups blocked funding to the WikiLeaks site.The group said thousands of volunteers had joined their operation in defense of WikiLeaks and Assange. The Australian is being detained in London pending an extradition request from Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations. The Swedish government's website was shut down for several hours overnight during a cyber attack, while a website bearing Justice Minister Beatrice Ask's name was set up and visitors were redirected to the WikiLeaks site, Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper reported.Sarah Palin, Visa and MasterCard came under attack Wednesday when Anonymous hacked their websites, causing them to briefly go offline or slow down.A spokesperson for Visa Europe told Sky News that cardholders' data was not vulnerable and transactions and purchases were not stopped. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, however there is no impact whatsoever in making a payment with Visa either online or in store," Visa said.MasterCard's spokesperson said it had made "significant progress" in restoring full service to its corporate website. "Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk."The website and email service of the lawyer representing two Swedish women at the center of sexual assault allegations against Assange were also hacked Tuesday.A WikiLeaks supporter, calling himself Coldblood, told the BBC on Thursday: "This is a war of data, we are trying to keep the internet open and free for everyone, just the way the internet has been and always was ... Some of the main targets involve Amazon, Mastercard, Visa and PayPal."Although Coldblood had said he was a spokesman for Anonymous, the group wrote on Twitter that he was not one of its spokespeople.PayPal's website, which was hit by an attempted DDoS attack on Monday morning, was now fully operational, a spokesperson said, adding, "The attack slowed the website itself down for a short while, but did not significantly impact payments."Assange's supporters have vowed his arrest would not halt the flow of WikiLeaks' release of the diplomatic cables. On the Twitter feed for Operation: Payback's, a cyberattack campaign targeting the perceived opponents of WikiLeaks, the next target is highlighted: Amazon.com.Photo Credit: (FoxNews)http://www.amazon.com
