Well hacked off
The National Security Adviser has warned that government websites holding taxpayers' personal details could be seen as a desirable target by hactivists sympathetic to WikiLeaks.
Sir Peter Ricketts urged Whitehall to brace itself and prepare for possible cyber attacks from hacktivists railing against the British government for arresting WikiLeaks' editor, Julian Assange, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Hacktivist group Anonymous has so far used DDoS attacks to slow or bring down the websites of major companies such as Amazon and PayPal after they refused to cooperate with the whistle blowing website.
The PM's spokesman has reportedly revealed that Ricketts advised the heads of government departments on how to protect their websites from DDoS attacks.
He is said to be particularly worried that sites belonging to the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC could come under fire as they both hold personal details of benefit claimants and taxpayers.
"My understanding is that the National Security Adviser has spoken to permanent secretaries about the security of Government websites. Obviously the priority there would be websites where we are dealing with information that belongs to members of the public," the spokesman told The Telegraph.
While the timing of Ricketts' warning might seem a little strange, given that Anonymous is believed to be mulling over whether to continue with its DDoS tactics, there seems to be concern that Assange's possible extradition could bring with it new attacks and worries about the unpredictable and seemingly un-unified approach of the hacktivists.
Swedish government websites have already come under attack following the government's fresh bid to question Assange over allegations of sexual molestation and rape as well as the issuance of an international arrest warrant. The lawyers acting for the alleged victims in the case have also reportedly been attacked.
While Assange has always denied the allegations, he is still in police custody having been refused bail and will attend court today to decide whether he will get bail.
