Anonymous Hacks China Sites, Warns Of No Mercy

The incipient China branch of international hacking organization Anonymous has hacked hundreds of mainland Chinese websites.

On a government site, hackers wrote you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall.

They added: So expect us because we do not forgive, never. What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. With no mercy.

Numerous Western media organization have been quick to pick up the story, though unsurprisingly, few national-level news organizations in China have given it any mention except for a short article in the Global Times.

Chinese micro-blogging however, has been quick to pick up and spread the story.

Nevertheless it is unclear how effective Anonymous' attack really was in inciting a native Chinese response, considering most postings from the hackers were in English.

The hacked sites only belong to local, municipal or township-level, governments and business groups. Anonymous has posted the list of targeted sites onto Pastebin.

As of Thursday morning, U.S. East Coast time, many of the attacked Chinese sites remained down for maintenance and some continue to show signs of having been tampered with.

The most prominent site hacked was that of the Chengdu Central Business District, which now appears to be functional again. The only Chinese writing originally offered on the site by Anonymous included the phrase difficult times reveal truth. Anonymous' name also did not appear in Chinese.

The Anonymous hackers also warned Internet users by posting Chinese People: Your government controls the Internet in your country and strives to filter what it considers a threat for it. Be careful.