US Web site covering China scandal disrupted by cyberattack
A US-based Web site that has aggressively covered China’s biggest political scandal in decades was the victim of a disruptive attack that was accompanied by threats to the service that registers its domain name, the site’s manager said.
The site was rendered inaccessible for much of April 19, depriving readers of coverage of the latest developments in the downfall of Chinese Communist Party official Bo Xilai, said Watson Meng, 47, who runs the Chinese-language site from Durham (NC). Chinese viewers are able to gain access through proxy servers that get them around China’s Internet firewall, which the government uses to block certain content. Meng said he believes some element of the government ordered the disruption, but said he has no forensic proof. The site, Boxun, has been targeted previously while publishing material considered sensitive by the Chinese government.