Domain names under threat after hackers hijack websites

Hackers hijacked a series of high-profile internet sites last week in a move that security experts said could have serious implications for the development of e-business.

The hackers, who have not been identified, fooled domain name registrar Network Solutions into changing the registration of Domain Name System (DNS) servers at a range of sites, causing a total loss of service.

Sites that were hit included those of Manchester United and Adidas. Front pages were replaced by a coat of arms with the title "Kosovo is Serbia".

The internet vandals also left the message "be happy if we hacked your site because we only hack the best sites on the internet".

Cheryl Regan, spokeswoman at Network Solutions, said: "There is an active investigation about unauthorised changes to domain registration which allowed people to effectively hijack websites."

Neil Barrett, technical director for Information Risk Management, said that it was remarkably easy to carry out this sort of sabotage.

"You don't even have to go as far as spoofing an e-mail," he said. "The Whois lookup database (an online domain name registration database) contains all the information you need to send a fake letter with the appropriate letterhead and contact details." He said that because it looks authentic the changes would be carried out without question.

Regan said Network Solutions had put in place measures to prevent the hijacking, but she admitted that the changes had not yet been eradicated as it takes several days for DNS changes to be updated throughout the internet.

She said suggestions that 2,000 sites were affected were "much too high" but declined to give the actual figure.