Anonymous hackers strike in Ireland

Hacktivists target main opposition party Fine Gael's web site

Ireland's main opposition party, Fine Gael, has had to take its web site down following an attack from vigilante hacker group Anonymous.

Previously, the group has perpetrated successful denial-of-service attacks on major sites including Mastercard and Paypal, with similar results.

It has attempted to justify its actions in the past by citing the lack of support shown by its targets for whistle-blowing web site Wikileaks. Both Mastercard and Paypal stopped processing payments to Wikileaks following intense political pressure.

On its web site, Anonymous describes itself as: "...a leaderless movement that has worked tirelessly to oppose all forms of internet censorship worldwide, from DMCA abuses to government mandated content filters."

Fine Gael has stated that up to 2,000 people's personal details have been compromised by the attack. The party also said that all have been informed of the breach.

The party's web site is currently down, but it has set up an alternative that simply contains a statement on the attack. The statement advises visitors that: "The main web site will be offline while we follow-up with the appropriate authorities to resolve the matter."

A report in the Guardian states that the FBI are investigating.

It is not currently known why Anonymous chose to target Fine Gael.