OpMegaupload: Anonymous Attack US Online Security Website in SOPA Protest

Hacker collective Anonymous has attacked US government online security website in protest against controversial anti-piracy and copyright legislation.

In a message on Pastebin, hackers under the AntiSec banner claimed they had hit the OnGuardOnline.gov website. They also threatened to publish emails, passwords, bank accounts and other information from the hacked websites.

"If SOPA/PIPA/ACTA passes we will wage a relentless war against the corporate internet, destroying dozens upon dozens of government and company websites," reads the statement.

GuardOnline.gov is a partnership of fourteen federal agencies managed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

FTC could not be immediately reached for comment on the hack of the security website.

SOPA, or Stop Online Privacy Act and PIPA or Protect Intellectual Property Act were temporary withdrawn by the White House and members of the US Senate after a mass protest of hundreds of major websites in the country. Wikipedia, Wordpress and Reddit, among the others, went offline to protest against the bills. Millions of web users took to social media to express their anger.

But many fears that ACTA, or Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which is to be ratified by the European Union, will be as pernicious as SOPA. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the bill will deal primarily with counterfeit physical goods, such as medicine. But experts claim it will have broader scope and will deal with new tools targeting "internet distribution and information technology." It spans all of the countries in the developed world, including EU, US, Switzerland and Japan.

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