Government hacking saga continues

Following the insane ramblings of the Conservative party yesterday, it appears as if there is a non-imaginary threat of hacking on the cards. A group which calls itself the Electrohippies has announced its intention to sabotage commercial and government Web sites on Tuesday to coincide with an anti-capitalist protest in London. City firms have been put on alert, although the likelihood of serious cyber disruption doesn't seem too great. The hacking group has not claimed it will break into the sites but instead plans to bombard selected sites with junk email and viruses. Whether this is lack of expertise or a refusal to admit to illegal activities is unclear, but it seems unlikely that the stated offensive will have much effect. The anarchists made the news in June after rioting in the City of London caused £2 million of damage. One of the groups concerned, Reclaim The Streets, has led various high-profile "direct action" protests throughout the country this year. Related story Anarchists run riot on the Web