Dutch police investigate apparent hacker attack

[December 10, 2010]  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Police said Friday they are investigating if hackers were responsible for taking down websites of police and prosecutors in the Netherlands after the arrest of a 16-year-old for involvement in a cyberattack on several prominent financial payment websites.

"We assume it is hackers. We are not sure yet," said National Police Service spokesman Dennis Janus.

Dutch media reported that the "hacktivist" group Anonymous tried to take down the two sites with a so-called denial of service attack.

Both sites were sporadically online Friday morning.

National Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Desiree Wilhelm said prosecutors also are investigating the problems with their website.

Prosecutors said the young hacker police arrested Thursday confessed to participating in attacks by WikiLeaks sympathizers on websites, including MasterCard, PayPal and Visa.

[Associated Press]

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