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| 'Anti-IS group' claims BBC website attack | 'Anti-IS group' claims BBC website attack |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A group that says it targets online activity linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed it was behind an attack on the BBC's website. | A group that says it targets online activity linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed it was behind an attack on the BBC's website. |
| All the BBC's websites were unavailable for several hours on New Year's Eve after what a BBC source described as a "distributed denial of service" attack. | All the BBC's websites were unavailable for several hours on New Year's Eve after what a BBC source described as a "distributed denial of service" attack. |
| The group, calling itself New World Hacking, said it had carried out the attack as a "test of its capabilities". | The group, calling itself New World Hacking, said it had carried out the attack as a "test of its capabilities". |
| The BBC has not confirmed or denied such an attack caused the problems. | The BBC has not confirmed or denied such an attack caused the problems. |
| The corporation's press office said on Saturday that the BBC would not be commenting on the group's claim. | The corporation's press office said on Saturday that the BBC would not be commenting on the group's claim. |
| A "distributed denial of service" attack, which the group claims it carried out, aims to knock a site offline by swamping it with more traffic than it can handle. | A "distributed denial of service" attack, which the group claims it carried out, aims to knock a site offline by swamping it with more traffic than it can handle. |
| In a tweet to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, the group said: "We are based in the US, but we strive to take down Isis [IS] affiliated websites, also Isis members. | In a tweet to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, the group said: "We are based in the US, but we strive to take down Isis [IS] affiliated websites, also Isis members. |
| What is a 'distributed denial of service' attack? | |
| #BBCdown: How the internet reacted | #BBCdown: How the internet reacted |
| "We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers... who is there to fight off online terrorists? | "We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers... who is there to fight off online terrorists? |
| "The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power." | "The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power." |
| Earlier, New World Hacking had said: "It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours. Our servers are quite strong." | Earlier, New World Hacking had said: "It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours. Our servers are quite strong." |
| One of the group's members - nicknamed Ownz - told the BBC that New World Hacking was a team of 12 people - eight male and four female - who came together in 2012. | One of the group's members - nicknamed Ownz - told the BBC that New World Hacking was a team of 12 people - eight male and four female - who came together in 2012. |
| The group's other recent activities included taking part in a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan, and the #OpParis effort to identify and report IS social media accounts following the November attacks on the French capital, Ownz said. | The group's other recent activities included taking part in a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan, and the #OpParis effort to identify and report IS social media accounts following the November attacks on the French capital, Ownz said. |
| Ownz said his group used a tool called Bangstresser - created by another US-based "hacktivist" - to direct a flood of traffic against the BBC, and had supplemented the attack with requests from its own personal computer servers. | Ownz said his group used a tool called Bangstresser - created by another US-based "hacktivist" - to direct a flood of traffic against the BBC, and had supplemented the attack with requests from its own personal computer servers. |
| The group has already used the technique against IS websites, but intended to "really get into the action" against a new list of targets associated with the militant Islamist group from Tuesday, Ownz claimed. | The group has already used the technique against IS websites, but intended to "really get into the action" against a new list of targets associated with the militant Islamist group from Tuesday, Ownz claimed. |
| Error message | Error message |
| The problems on the BBC sites began at about 07:00 GMT on Thursday, and meant visitors saw an error message instead of the intended content. | The problems on the BBC sites began at about 07:00 GMT on Thursday, and meant visitors saw an error message instead of the intended content. |
| The attack hit the main BBC website as well as associated services including the iPlayer catch-up service and iPlayer Radio app. | The attack hit the main BBC website as well as associated services including the iPlayer catch-up service and iPlayer Radio app. |
| An initial statement tweeted by the BBC blamed the problems on a "technical issue". The corporation said it was working to make sites, services and pages reachable again. | An initial statement tweeted by the BBC blamed the problems on a "technical issue". The corporation said it was working to make sites, services and pages reachable again. |
| By 10:30 GMT the site was largely working again although some pages and indexes took longer than normal to load. | By 10:30 GMT the site was largely working again although some pages and indexes took longer than normal to load. |
| At midday on Thursday, the BBC said its websites were now "operating normally", and apologised for any inconvenience caused. | At midday on Thursday, the BBC said its websites were now "operating normally", and apologised for any inconvenience caused. |