MasterCard Website Hacked by WikiLeaks Supporters

The website of MasterCard Inc., operator of the second-largest electronic payments network, was temporarily knocked offline due to a cyber attack by hackers supporting whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks. The attack, attributed to the Anonymous group, follows a long-standing blockade by MasterCard and other financial institutions against WikiLeaks. The hackers claim that they are retaliating against MasterCard's decision to block WikiLeaks from using its payment network. MasterCard has assured customers that their cardholder data remains secure and unaffected by the incident. The cyber attack highlights the escalating cyber warfare between hacktivists and financial institutions that have blocked WikiLeaks' access to payment services.

Key Takeaways:

• The Anonymous group, a collective of hacktivists, was responsible for the cyber attack on MasterCard's website, claiming it as a response to MasterCard's blockade against WikiLeaks.
• The hacktivist group LulzSec, which has disbanded after a 50-day spree of high-profile cyber attacks, including on Sony Corp. and the US Senate, was involved in a previous campaign against companies blocking WikiLeaks' access to payment services.
• The attack on MasterCard's website comes after WikiLeaks published sensitive information, including US diplomatic cables and Pentagon documents on the Afghan and Iraq wars, in partnership with the hacktivist group Anonymous.
• The incident highlights the ongoing cyber warfare between hacktivists and financial institutions that have blocked WikiLeaks' access to payment services, including MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal.
• The US government received the most significant blow from WikiLeaks' publication of sensitive information, including confidential diplomatic cables and documents on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• A previous cyber attack on MasterCard in December 2010 was also attributed to the Anonymous group, in response to MasterCard's decision to block WikiLeaks from using its payment network.
• A US bank, Citibank, has reported a cyber attack compromising over 360,000 credit-card accounts, or 1.5% of its credit-card holders, in North America.

Statistics:

• 360,000 credit-card accounts may have been compromised by hackers in a cyber attack on Citibank in May, representing 1.5% of its credit-card holders in North America (Source: Citibank).
• The cyber attack on MasterCard's website was attributed to the Anonymous group, which claims to have retaliated against MasterCard's decision to block WikiLeaks from using its payment network (Source: WikiLeaks).
• Citibank has confirmed that 3,400 customers lost about $2.7 million due to a breach of their credit-card information (Source: Citibank).
• A hacker group called LulzSec, which has disbanded after a 50-day spree of high-profile cyber attacks, was involved in a previous campaign against companies blocking WikiLeaks' access to payment services (Source: Various media reports).

Sources:

• Bloomberg News
• WikiLeaks
• Twitter posts from Ibom Hacktivist and WikiLeaks
• Various media reports on LulzSec and Anonymous hacking activities.