TalkTalk Gets Hit By Anonymous – Despite Anti-DEA Stance

TalkTalk has admitted its website was forced offline by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, saying it was disappointed to be on Anonymous’ hit list.

Anonymous has taken credit for taking down the Virgin Media website and TalkTalk told TechWeekEurope it was also being targeted by the hacktivist group. It is believed the hits came in response to a court order that is forcing ISPs to block access to the Pirate Bay.

TalkTalk said phone and broadband services were unaffected but the DDoS hit resulted in the ISP’s website being unavailable for a number of hours on Monday and Tuesday. The ISP was somewhat bemused by Anonymous’ actions, however, pointing to the work it had done in attempting to stop strict anti-piracy measures going through, most notably in its abortive bid to get the Digital Economy Act overturned.

TalkTalk: Why us?

“We understand that individuals protesting against the recent Court Order compelling ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay took this action,” a spokesperson said.

“TalkTalk has always fought against the use of inappropriate measures to tackle internet piracy. For instance, no ISP was more strident in its opposition to the Digital Economy Act than TalkTalk and we take pride in the fact that many of its more draconian provisions did not pass into law due to our stance.

“However, we are obliged to obey this Court Order and we are disappointed that we have been targeted by Anonymous.”

The Pirate Bay has also voiced its disappointment with Anonymous. The group said it did not support DDoS as a form of protest, saying on Facebook: “Don’t fight them using their ugly methods. DDOS and blocks are both forms of censorship.”

Other ISPs that have been asked to block the Pirate Bay include Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk and O2.  BT is still in discussions about how and when it will prevent people going on to the website.

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