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Wikileaks backers hit MasterCard in cyberstrike

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-12-09 09:59
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LONDON - Credit card giants MasterCard and Visa came under intense cyber attack on Wednesday as supporters of WikiLeaks retaliated for moves against Julian Assange after the release of US diplomatic cables that angered and embarrassed Washington.

Wikileaks backers hit MasterCard in cyberstrike
MasterCard and VISA credit cards are seen in this illustrative photograph taken in Hong Kong Dec 8, 2010. Credit card giants MasterCard and Visa came under intense cyber attack on Wednesday as supporters of WikiLeaks retaliated for moves against Julian Assange after the release of US diplomatic cables that angered and embarrassed Washington. [Photo/Agencies]

The Swedish prosecution authority, whose arrest order for Assange over accusations of sexual offenses led a British court to remand the 39-year-old WikiLeaks website founder in custody, also said it had reported an online attack to police.

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Assange's online supporters hit the corporate website of credit card firm MasterCard in apparent retaliation for its blocking of donations to the WikiLeaks website.

"We are glad to tell you that http://www.mastercard.com/ is down and it's confirmed!" said an entry on the Twitter feed of a group calling itself AnonOps, which says it fights against censorship and "copywrong."

Visa Inc's site was temporarily unavailable late on Monday in the United States and the same group claimed responsibility for bringing it down.

Sources told Reuters that WikiLeaks' next release may highlight US government reports on suspected militants held at Guantanamo Bay, which some US officials fear could show some detainees were freed despite intelligence assessments they were still dangerous.

Mark Stephens, Assange's principal lawyer in London, denied the WikiLeaks founder had ordered the cyber strikes, which appeared to target companies seen as cooperating with efforts to rein in Wikileaks.

Assange "did not give instructions to hack" the company websites, Stephens told Reuters.

MasterCard, calling the attack "a concentrated effort to flood our corporate web site with traffic and slow access," said on Wednesday all of its services had been restored and that card holder account data was not at risk.

But it said the attack, mounted by hackers using simple tools posted on the Web, had extended beyond its website to payment processing technology, leaving some customers unable to make online payments using MasterCard software.

Assange spent the night in a British jail and will appear for a hearing next Tuesday.