Cyber Protest Group Launches DDoS Attacks Against Spain's Copyright Society

Today around 2:30PM EDT, an anonymous group calling for free file-sharing across P2P networks launched a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) against the Spanish copyright protection society (SGAE). PandaLabs says it has witnessed more than 20 service interruptions to SGAE's site, as well as four interruptions to a second Spanish site, mcu.es.

In the case of the ongoing attacks, part of what the group is calling "Operation Payback," anyone trying to access the targeted websites may not be able to reach the domains.

In a public statement today to the media, the group said:

"The SGAE has as slogan 'Believe in culture', while they restrict new creativity by preventing that creativity is shared. They lobbied this Canon Law, which states that suspected piracy websites can be taken down without a court order. This is a danger to freedom of speech, since any site can just be taken down with the excuse that intellectual property is hosted. The 'Ministerio of Cultura' should get a message that their current course will only lead to more controversy and protest."

In September, organized mass cyber-protests began on the Internet against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), bodies that set out to protect copyright and distribution rights. The 'Anonymous' group responded to these organizations' efforts to shut down free file-sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay by launching a stream of globally coordinated cyber attacks.

"The way things are progressing, it will be no surprise to see cyber protests organized country by country targeting different copyright protection associations," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs.

Is your organization prepared for a massive cyber attack?