Hackers strike Zimbabwean regime sites

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Cyber activists took down Zimbabwean government Web sites, apparently in support of the WikiLeaks whistle-blower site, a computer security firm said Monday.

Grace Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, was recently reported to be suing a newspaper for $15 million after it published a WikiLeaks cable stating that she has profited from the illegal diamond trade.

Sites of the government and Mugabe's ZANU-PF party were hit by distributed denial-of-service attacks and, in the case of the Finance Ministry, defacements, Sophos reported. The government's www.gta.gov.zw and the party site were still offline Monday.

A statement published on an "Anonymous" site explained "Operation: Zimbabwe."

"We are targeting Mugabe and his regime in the ZANU-PF who have outlawed the free press and threaten to sue anyone publishing WikiLeaks."