Operation Payback: WikiLeaks Cyberwar on Visa and MasterCard Disrupts Christmas Shopping

The websites of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal were all targeted by co-ordinated action on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.


A group of "hacktivists" calling themselves Anonymous launched what they called "Operation Payback" against the firms that had began refusing to process payments to WikiLeaks last week.

One payment firm said the cyber attacks had resulted in a "complete loss of service" for its clients, although MasterCard insisted its card transactions were still secure.

A group using the Twitter handle @AnonOperation - which was linked to the WikLeaks site itself - tweeted: "Operation #Payback SITREP: www.visa.com is currently DOWN. FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!!"

The post was retweeted many times, adding to the sense that the attacks were co-ordinated, and WikiLeaks Europe declared it was at "cyberwar" on Twitter.

One tweet mocked MasterCard's advertising slogan with the comment: "There are some things WikiLeaks can't do. For everything else, there's Operation Payback."

Their attack came after the financial giants announced that they would no longer process donations to the anti-secrecy group.

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