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14 June 2011, 12:45

LulzSec hacks US Senate's web site

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Hacker group LulzSec says that it has recently hacked the US Senate's servers. To prove this, the group has released a config file from the legislative chamber's web site. In a "greeting", the hackers write that they have released some internal data from senate.gov and ask whether this constitutes an act of war; this question appears to allude to statements made by the US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who suggested that retaliation measures for cyber attacks should be considered, as their effects are similar to those of attacks with conventional weapons.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, a US Senate spokeswoman has acknowledged that the web site was hacked, but said that the intruder didn't gain access to the Senate's computer network. The computer systems' security arrangements are going to be reviewed.

LulzSec also penetrated the network of games developer Bethesda Softworks, where it succeeded in stealing some data. LulzSec said that this includes the details of 200,000 gamers who play the Brink video game, but added that it hasn't published this data – unlike other material the hackers have accessed. Bethesda has acknowledged that the hackers gained access to user names, email addresses and passwords; the company has recommended that users change their passwords. No personal financial information or credit card details were stolen.

LulzSec also infiltrated the network of porn provider pron.com, copied the provider's database containing about 26,000 users' access credentials, and published the data on its web site. According to media reports, the Facebook social networking site has already responded by blocking the affected email addresses in order to pre-empt unauthorised access attempts, as many internet users tend to use the same access credentials for multiple online providers.

LulzSec has recently hacked a variety of web sites and networks, for example, Sony BMG and Sony Pictures, as well as broadcasting group PBS, Nintendo, and security firm InfraGard; the latter hack led to the release of confidential data belonging to Unveillance which gave insight into the methods used by US cyber war experts.

(ehe)

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