UK anti-crime website hit by LulzSec 'joint attack'

A United Kingdom government website appeared to be the first victim of hacker group LulzSec’s war on government websites, being knocked offline in an apparent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack before dawn Tuesday (Manila time). The website of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was inaccessible as of 12:45 p.m. (Manila time), even as LulzSec claimed responsibility for the attack. “Tango down - http://t.co/JhcjgO9 - in the name of #AntiSec," LulzSec said in its Twitter account. UK-SOCA is the latest agency to be attacked by LulzSec since the US Central Intelligence Agency. LulzSec also claimed to attack an affiliate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. LulzSec hinted it used a DDoS attack to disable the UK-SOCA website, saying DDoS is “our least powerful and most abundant ammunition." It added that government hacking is taking place “right now behind the scenes" as part of its AntiSec (Anti-Security) operations. The group also hinted it is to unleash fire on “multiple targets," but did not elaborate further. LulzSec also claimed to have the support of other hacker groups, including the Iranian Cyber Army, which had been linked to attacks on other sites. “@LulzSec @Anonymouse we do support you,from now on #IranianCyberArmy #PersianAnon #LulzSec #AntiSec #Anonymouse," the Iranian Cyber Army said in its own Twitter account. It also claimed that hacktivist group Anonymous is "making progress" with its Anti-Security operations, and that "rogue hacker groups are joining in." Computer security firm Sophos noted the irony in the attack on UK-SOCA, which it noted investigates cybercrimes in the UK. “The question that everyone wants answered, of course, is ‘Who are the people behind LulzSec, and when will they be brought to justice?’" it said in a blog post (http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/06/20/soca-website-scalp-claimed-by-lulzsec-in-apparent-ddos-attack/). Anonymous: LulzSec has acquired a cause For its part, Anonymous said LulzSec appeared to have "acquired a cause" instead of making random attacks. "Over the weekend, LulzSec has seemingly finally moved away from being in it 'for the lulz' and has acquired a cause: it has announced it has teamed up with Anonymous and other 'affiliated battleships' and that it is launching 'Operation Anti-Security,'" the group said in a blog entry. — TJD, GMA News