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WikiLeaks hit with two cyber-attacks



Somebody doesn't like WikiLeaks.

Since Sunday, the Web site dedicated to exposing government and corporate secrets has suffered two computer assaults, each of which has overwhelmed its servers and rendered the site temporarily inaccessible.

Some observers immediately speculated that the attacker might be the U.S. government, which has condemned WikiLeaks' release of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables.

Experts said a more likely culprit is a "patriotic" hacker incensed by WikiLeaks' publication of massive amounts of classified government material.

"You have ethical hackers who are really opposed to the notion that you should be the one to decide what information should be disseminated," said Mark D. Rasch, a former federal cyber-crime prosecutor and now a security consultant.

The attacks have been small to medium-size in scope, said Craig Labovitz, chief scientist at Arbor Networks, a security firm. Neither rises "to some of the really large attacks we've seen on a regular basis," Labovitz said.

A Twitter user with a history of past "denial of service" attacks whose handle is "Jester" claimed responsibility for the first attack, Labovitz said.

According to cyber-threat researcher Richard Stiennon, Jester is a former Special Forces soldier who has gone after sites he associates with al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

"He has real capability," Stiennon said. "If he says he took down WikiLeaks, he took down WikiLeaks."

Stewart Baker, a former National Security Agency general counsel, said it would be pointless for the government to attack a site such as WikiLeaks, because "all you'll do is turn it into a gypsy Web site. They'll find some place to go."

Plus, he said, it would be a public relations coup.

"They'll portray their every move as a victory over 'the man,' " Baker said.