WikiLeaks ‘Under DDoS Again’

WikiLeaks has been hit by another distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, according to the organisation, and some have already claimed a government entity is behind the hit.

Julian Assange’s publishing body took to Twitter to note that its site was down, as was the donation page run by French organisation Defense Fund Net Neutrality (FDNN). At the time of publication, access to WikiLeaks’ main site was down. The downforeveryoneorjustme.com service confirmed it was out of action for everyone.

“WikiLeaks donation page and FDNN portal down,” one tweet read. “No one is directly frightened of WikiLeaks. What they’re frightened of is you seeing a successful example of independence,” read another.

“What they’re frightened of is you knowing how the world works, because they’re scared of you.

“Speculation on DDoS attack against WikiLeaks timing: 1. Olympics cover 2. Upcomng [sic] release. 3. Ongoing Syria, Stratfor releases.”

Why WikiLeaks?

WikiLeaks has not exposed much on the Olympic Games, so it remains unclear why it would be targeted for coverage of London 2012. At the time of publication, it had not responded to a TechWeekEurope request for comment, although one WikiLeaks supporter said over Twitter that the Olympics reference did not relate to anything Assange’s organisation had done.

“Whilst attention of the world is on [mainstream media] Olympic games coverage, WikiLeaks’ ability to get donations crippled,” the supporter, Robyn C. Jackson, said.

Last month, WikiLeaks started publishing 2.5 million emails from Syrian political figures, ministries and associated companies. In February, it began releasing more than five million emails obtained from Stratfor, a private  intelligence company with ties to the US government.

This isn’t the first time WikiLeaks has been targeted by a DDoS attack. In May, the organisation said it had been hit by a 72-hour strike. A TechWeekEurope exclusive last month showed how super-powered DDoS strikes were growing. Figures showed a 105 percent rise in the proportion of DDoS attacks measuring in at over 10Gbps.

Assange is currently awaiting a decision from the Ecuador government over whether he will be granted asylum in the country. Reports indicated he will have to wait until after the Olympic Games to discover his fate.

The WikiLeaks’ founder is hoping to gain asylum to Ecuador, after he lost his final appeal against extradition from the UK to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over claims he raped a woman and sexually molested and coerced another in Stockholm in August 2010.

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