MasterCard has fallen victim to hacker
attacks, collectively dubbed ‘Operation Payback’, as it stands
accused of ‘bowing down’ to government pressure in its suspension
of payments to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
http://www.mastercard.com/ is
currently paralysed and attempts to load the website are
unsuccessful. A twitter update revealed by The
Guardian served to confirm the self-titled ‘Anonymous’ group
were behind the attack:
Go deeper with GlobalData
9.39am by user @Anon_Operation “WE ARE GLAD TO
TELL YOU THAT http://www.mastercard.com/ is DOWN AND IT’S
CONFIRMED! #ddos #wikileaks Operation:Payback(is a bitch!)
#PAYBACK”
The hackers hinted via the twitter update that they
mounted a ‘distributed denial of service’ (DDOS) attack in a bid to
bring down the card association’s website.
The group of online activists have also
targeted PostFinance – the Swiss bank where WikiLeaks’ founder and
editor Julian Assange held his account before it was recently
closed and PayPal. The hackers have only managed to take down
PayPal’s blog but the threat to its service remains.
MasterCard, Visa and online payment method
PayPal were all reported this week to have pulled the plug on
payments to WikiLeaks as the campaign against the whistleblowing
website hots up.
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By GlobalDataWikiLeaks angered the US government by
uncovering and subsequently releasing thousands of secret US
military documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This led to
calls for the website to be named a ‘terrorist’ organisation, which
would effectively make it illegal for US banks to process its
payments.
It has been widely reported by various media
outlets that PayPal was the one of the first organisations to halt
its dealings with WikiLeaks, claiming the website violated the
terms of its ‘Acceptable Use Policy’. This says a payment service
cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote,
facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity. Other
payment services soon followed suit.
A spokesperson for MasterCard Worldwide told
CNET: “MasterCard is taking action to ensure that
WikiLeaks can no longer accept MasterCard-branded products.”
“MasterCard’s rules prohibits customers from
directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that
is illegal,” said a second MasterCard spokesperson Chris
Moneiro.
Associated Press also revealed Visa
has followed its competitor by announcing it too will suspend all
payments to the website pending an investigation of the
organisation’s business.
WikiLeaks has seen is finances systematically
attacked over the last week in response to accusations of criminal
activity by the website and rape and sexual molestation allegations
against Assange. As the website relies on donations to keep it
alive, the announcements made by the card schemes are thought to
have dealt it a huge blow in its campaign to stay in business and
casts a dark shadow over its future.
In light of the shutdown by the high-profile
payment organisations, WikiLeaks and its supporters have mounted
their own campaign to ensure the website’s survival. Fund-raising
requests are increasing and it is urging people to “Keep Us
Strong”.
