LulzSec returns, starts hacking News Corp sites [U]
updated 05:45 pm EDT, Mon July 18, 2011
LulzSec revives with attack on Sun and Murdoch
Update: more hacks) LulzSec returned from its self-imposed exit to launch a new attack against The Sun. The hacker group changed key articles on the British newspaper's page in a retaliation campaign for News Corp's phone hacking scandal. Among the examples were an article claiming that News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch had killed himself through palladium poisoning.
The group had been conducting a "secret Pastebin operation," referring to the site where LulzSec often stores its successful code. While it didn't explain the exact methods, it revealed that the newspaper was using Sun servers.
Its attack was "simply phase 1" of a larger campaign that would hit News Corp in "following days." Murdoch was next, LulzSec said.
Although the collective has often said it hacks sites for fun, it said late into its original attack wave that it was supporting AntiSec, a politically motivated team-up with Anonymous that was meant to hit out at institutions and companies that were part of what they see as a restrictive system.
News Corp drew the attention after it was revealed that the media giant's News of the World had hacked into a missing British girl's phone and deleted content several years ago. Although News Corp tried to paint it as an isolated incident, signs have mounted of the practice being more frequent. Allegations exist that the company may have even broken into the phones of 9/11 victims. Murdoch has also been accused of legal but allegedly corrosive effects on society, such as polarizing political debate, receiving its talking points directly from the Republican party, and knowingly using false characterizations to motivate its right-wing audience.
Update: Further attacks have brought down News International's DNS servers and, reportedly, all 1,024 of its web addresses.
