Pro-WikiLeaks Hackers' Latest Target: PayPal

UPDATE: A PayPal spokesperson contacted The Huffington Post to note that according to api-status.com, PayPal's API is fully operational and has not suffered any downtime. The was an attack on api.paypal.com, however.

The spokesperson added that PayPal started receiving distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on Monday and that they have been continuing since. "They may have slowed the website down for a bit," the spokesperson said, but he added that payments have not been affected.

PayPal said in a statement:

The PayPal.com site is fully operational. We can confirm that there have been multiple attempted DDoS attacks on paypal.com this week. We have also experienced an attack on api.paypal.com today. Attacks may slow the website itself down for a short while, but they have not significantly impacted payments.

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The pro-WikiLeaks hacker group Anonymous seems to have launched a cyber-attack aimed at disabling PayPal's API, making the website api.paypal.com inacessible.

Anonymous launched a campaign, Operation Payback, targeting "major anti-piracy & anti-freedom entities." MasterCard, Visa, Amazon, Joe Lieberman, and Sarah Palin are among those who have been victim to cyberattacks launched by the activist hacker group.

"Target is: api.paypal.com _Status: seems to be down :) Instructions: http://pastehtml.com/view/1c8i33u.html #ddos #payback #wikileaks," Anonymous' Operation Payback Twitter account, @Op_Payback, tweeted at around 1PM ET.

Disabling PayPal's API can interfere with partner sites' ability to process PayPal transactions.

PayPal cut off WikiLeaks' money flow and blocked the account the organization had been using to collect donations, a move the company said was precipitated by action taken by the U.S. State Department.

Comments

[one1byke]

08:18 AM on 12/13/2010

The 16-year old will win.

[fruity]

08:16 PM on 12/12/2010

Anonymous, Wikileaks and those 2 companies ready to sue the payment processor are not gonna like it when they find out Paypals parent company, Ebay Inc, the CEOs wife works for the State Department. People are not asking whether Ebay, Inc got a little hint from the gov

[Ozgur Zeren]

11:36 PM on 12/10/2010

Appalling to see that you are doing journalism without knowing nothing about what you are writing. What happened to the concept of 'research' in journalism ? Anonymous are not 'hackers'. They are people from all walks of life. They do not have the technical aptitude to do any kind of 'hacks'. All they are doing is, going to a website, and refreshing it, in the magnitude of millions of people. This causes a huge load, and creates a DDOS effect. People ranging from age 10 to 90 or more are doing this, from all walks of life, all countries, all social strata. That is anonymous. Next time you post an article, do SOME research and dont come up shamed.

[rogerebert1]

06:37 PM on 12/10/2010

sagres... actually, their API and site has been up and down all day... been trying to do Christmas shopping on eBay, and no dice half the time.

[sageres]

06:24 PM on 12/10/2010

Sometimes I wonder about PuffHo's reporting style. If you are not technically inclined, do not publish any articles until you do the research. API has never been a public accessory site, but rather a SOAP transactional site used by all the little Internet programs with "PayPal" button on them. It has never meant to display a single web page, and only communicates via SSL protocol. In other words -- don't believe the hype, PayPal's API is up and happy.

[disgustedwithall]

04:35 PM on 12/10/2010

Probably not the greatest PR in world to go about telling world that hackers have not shut them down. It just might upset the hackers enough to really shut down Visa, Paypal and all.. and of course that would upset the public, which might really be the end game for the gov, banks and others, shape public opinion against Wike as no matter how good the cause or righteous.

Not a stretch to know that with the new USA moral, ethics and through education of freedoms, truths and founders dreams of this nation, none DARE to slow down the USA shopper as that is what is now days really important on our major religious holiday, the worship of the holy alter of charge it and have I reached the card limit yet mantra.

[Janzell Jurilla]

01:32 PM on 12/10/2010

Is this appealing to a geek.. but not for "Business" :)

Great Post

[noob1]

11:36 AM on 12/10/2010

what's payfriend?

[Kathryn Marquet]

11:07 AM on 12/10/2010

Artists For Assange

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63908313/free-assange-tee-shirt-screen-print?ref=v1_other_1

[nammy50]

08:37 AM on 12/10/2010

The real question is who is next. Will anonymous target any service that drops wikileaks?

[studana51]

12:46 AM on 12/10/2010

Paypal tracks, WikiPals hack. All beyond my skill range but Paypal makes plenty of $$ from actual crimminals.
Sorry PayPal decided to go Goebbells. I'm not afraid to hear the truth.

[disgustedwithall]

04:38 PM on 12/10/2010

Hey Paypal is just part of the Kingdom of Ebay, so they must survive to serve the masters...as USA would shudder to a halt if Ebay went down, and just look at the idea's the former founder of Ebay presented in the 2010s elections for guidance.

But note most of media is REAL silent now days about Wiki and if they shadow gov works it right most of USA will think "Wiki" is some sort of hotel in Hawaii or a new realty series.

[MunyaBuddya]

10:54 PM on 12/09/2010

Here's sort of an explanation from some of the anons I assume to be involved in the raid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpwVfl3m32w

[JCurley]

10:17 PM on 12/09/2010

Paypal is not your pal!

[fruity]

08:17 PM on 12/12/2010

PayTHUG is more like it

[General Armchair]

09:46 PM on 12/09/2010

I just closed my PayPal Account. I urge others to do likewise.

If you're having trouble finding where to do this, here's a link:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_close-account

[ncyim]

07:18 PM on 12/12/2010

Done! Thank you for providing the link.

[cccoyote]

08:58 PM on 12/09/2010

Waa Hoo, just got my letter from ppal/GE Capital saying my credit limit has just been doubled.
Guess they haven't got mine canceling the account yet.

[disgustedwithall]

04:42 PM on 12/10/2010

What did they say about interest rates and "fees", they want first born or just servitude for 10 years cleaning their offices or what?