WikiLeaks suffers massive DDoS attack

Controversial whistleblower site WikiLeaks was taken down last week following a week-long and massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

The attacks coincided with WikiLeaks' release of new information on the Trapwire surveillance system discussed by Stratfor, the US-based global intelligence firm that hacker collective Anonymous infiltrated late last year to steal roughly five million emails.

"The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods," WikiLeaks wrote at the time On Wednesday, WikiLeak's official Twitter account speculated the timing of the DDoS attack may be related to the Olympics; the ongoing releases of Stratfor and Syria documents, which also were handed over to WikiLeaks for publishing by Anonymous; or unspecified future releases.