Josh Marshall confirms DDOS attack, no proof of who is behind it

[cal04]

http://twitter.com/#!/joshtpm

TPM Readers: TPM has been offline since 5pm & Yes I can confirm its a DDOS attack. We have no direct proof of who is behind it. However,

Given story we published today, a fairly logical inference can b drawn. We r working to restore access & will bring u more details shortly.

[Firebrand Gary]

1. What story was published today?

[DrunkenBoat]

3. I'd like to know too.

[struggle4progress]

4. Claim: Anonymous attack brings down Talking Points Memo

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=1909700

[Viking12]

5. mugshots of anonymous hackers

[cal04]

6. Rawstory has it here

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/09/claim-anonymous-attack-brings-down-talking-points-memo/

On Friday morning, the political website Talking Points Memo posted mug shots of several individuals arrested for their alleged connection with denial of service attacks carried out by the hacktivist group Anonymous.

TPM tweeted at the time, "We sincerely hope our site doesn't go down for posting this," but precisely that appears to have happened by Friday afternoon.

At 5:23 PM EST, the website National Confidential reported that TPM was offline, but then added four minutes later that the site was back. However, over the course of several attempts between 5:30 and 6:00, Raw Story was unable to get the main TPM page to load.

A page at the TPM site with the slide show of mugshots did load, but without the pictures. Its headline reads "Anonymous Unmarked," and a caption at the bottom explains, "Federal authorities in July arrested 16 alleged 'hackivists' they said were involved with the group Anonymous. Most of the defendants were accused of launching an attack on PayPal for disabling Wikileaks' account. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, TPM has exclusively obtained their mugshots."

[saras]

7. I have absolutely no sympathy. They need to wait for convictions to publish photos.

[DrunkenBoat]

8. Why? Arrests aren't private information.

[mod mom]

9. I agree.

[11cents]

11. Whuuuh ???

Did you also have that complaint when Tom DeLay's smilin' mug was printed all over the place?

(I actually think an argument could be made against allowing the printing of mugshots, and certainly against the "perp walk" spectacle, but there was nothing at all unusual or unethical about what TPM did.)

[Ohio Joe]

2. DDOS attack?

Script kiddies were behind it.

[cal04]

10. TPM Hacked After Posting Alleged ‘Anonymous’ Mugshots

http://tpmmedia.tumblr.com/post/10015719855/tpm-hacked-after-posting-alleged-anonymous-mugshots
https://www.facebook.com/notes/talking-points-memo/statement-from-tpm-on-attack-on-tpm-website/10150369645645435
(snip)
The photos were received from federal officials on Thursday evening and posted in a slideshow and accompanying story on talkingpointsmemo.com on Friday morning. The website first went down around 4:43PM eastern time, but was back up at 5:19PM. By 5:23PM it was back down, and at time of writing has remained down since.

TPM obtained the photos, taken by the U.S. Marshals Service after 16 alleged hackers were arrested in July, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Due to differing federal appeals court decisions on whether mugshots are subject to FOIA, the photos were requested by an individual residing in the Sixth Circuit (covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) on TPM’s behalf. Individuals who live or work in the Sixth Circuit are able to request mugshots taken in any part of the country.

TPM has used FOIA requests to obtain mugshots of individuals arrested for federal crimes in the past, including photos of those arrested in the FBI’s massive mob bust earlier this year, and those arrested in a corruption sting in Prince George’s County, Md. and numerous other individuals arrested for various crimes from threatening President Barack Obama to biting an FBI agent to lobbyists who worked alongside Jack Abramoff.