The activist hacking group Anonymous, responsible for numerous high-profile attacks on corporations and government bodies, has now targeted the Holy See, taking down www.vatican.va and is warning of a “coming storm”.
Hackers from the Italian branch of the group attacked the Vatican’s website in protest against Roman Catholic Church’s scandals, liturgies, conservative doctrines and controversial history.
The website was taken down on Wednesday and was inaccessible for hours. A Vatican spokesman said he could not confirm the crash was the work of the hackers but said technicians were working to get it back up, Reuters reports.
“Anonymous has decided to put your site under siege in response to your doctrine, liturgy and the absurd and anachronistic rules that your profit-making organization spreads around the world,” a statement published on the Italian website of the Anonymous group read.
Anonymous has become increasingly associated with international ‘hacktivism’, staging protests and high-profile cyber-attacks. The group has carried out attacks on scores of organizations, political parties and governments across the world.
The attack on the Holy See website comes as Anonymous warned of a “storm” to come in March.
“Trust us. You think you’ve seen the full muscles of #Anonymous up to now? Nah, you ain’t seen NOTHING yet. Get ready. #March2012,” the group said in Twitter.
On Tuesday top members of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacking groups were arrested by the FBI and charged with conspiracy. Following the arrests Anonymous posted on its Twitter feed: “LulzSec was a group, but Anonymous is a movement. Groups come and go, ideas remain.”
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