CIA website goes down, hackers claim responsibility

[Jan Klimkowski]

LulzSec census hacking claims 'a hoax'

Census director says it has found no sign of any suspicious activity despite online allegations about hacker collective

Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 22 June 2011 18.27 BST

The British census was not hacked and claims that it was unlawfully accessed by the notorious internet collective LulzSec were "a hoax", the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

Government officials on Tuesday launched an investigation into claims that information about tens of millions of Britons had been stolen by computer hackers LulzSec.

However, Glen Watson, the census director, said that the investigation had found "no sign of any suspicious activity" in relation to its records.

"I can reassure the public that their census records are secure," he said. "We have strict measures in place protecting the nation's census information."

LulzSec denied claims that it attempted to steal census data after what appeared to be a public admission from the group appeared online.

Watson said: "The claim that hackers got in looks like a hoax and our investigation concluded that there is no sign of any suspicious activity. The alleged hackers have also denied any involvement.

"However, we are not complacent and will remain vigilant. The security and confidentiality of census data remain our top priority."

Earlier on Wednesday, Britain's top policeman, Sir Paul Stephenson, described the hacker collective's actions as "deeply worrying", following attacks on the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the CIA.

So, at least some of the claimed attacks are pure inventions.

Maybe a War on Hacking will follow the equally faux and preposterous War on Drugs and War on Terror. I'm sure the Volkland Security Apparatus can make lots of money out of such a manufactured Scary Scenario.