Cyber criminal group Anonymous hacks Vatican website

A group of Italian cyber hackers, who claim they are members of the international gang of cyber criminals known as Anonymous, took down the Vatican’s, the Roman Catholic Church, website for a number of hours on Wednesday, reported by the Chicago Tribune. The Italian branch of Anonymous, hacked into the Vatican’s website, posing as its homepage, claiming the takeover was orchestrated in protest of a number of alleged abuses by the Catholic Church, including past executions of heretics, selling indulgences, and the recent child abuse scandals involving priests.

According to Reuters, in a statement on the website, the hackers wrote, “Today, 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 organisation spreads around the world. This attack is not against the Christian religion or the faithful around the world but against the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church.” The takeover of the Vatican’s website follows a long line of hacking incidents related to Anonymous, including attacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the government website of several African nations, and Nintendo.