The District government Web site has become the latest victim of hackers reportedly protesting the U.S. government, according to a city spokesman. Parts of the District’s Web site, dc.gov, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, have been collapsing for periods of time. Spokesman for D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Pedro Ribeiro, described the hacking on Thursday as more of an annoyance than a threat. He said, “They’re not endangering services.” According to Ribeiro, the city is working with the federal government and vendors to address the hacking attacks.
In an email to The Washington Post, a hacker going by the name Cosmosis Jones, said the group will continue similar attacks, but did not specify reasons for the intrusion. “Our attack on DC.gov was one of many reasons. To address that we will stand up for our rights on the Internet. We have also attacked NYC.gov due to OWS (Occupy Wall St). We will continue to launch further attacks against various DC websites and gov websites,” Cosmosis Jones wrote in the email.
