<p>The loosely organised hacker group Lulz Security broke into a public portion of the Senate website but did not reach behind a firewall into a more sensitive portion of the network, Martina Bradford, the deputy Senate sergeant at arms, said on Monday.<br /><br />Despite the breach, the Sergeant at Arms Office, which provides security for the Senate, said that the breach had not compromised any individual senator's information.<br />Lulz announced the hack on Monday.<br /><br />“We were responding to their allegations. Basically what we’re saying that the server they got into is for public access and is in the public side,” said Bradford.<br /><br />Lulz Security, who have hacked into Sony's website and the Public Broadcasting System, posted online a list of files that appear not to be sensitive but indicate the hackers had been into the Senate's computer network.<br /><br />“We don’t like the U.S. government very much,” Lulz Security said at the top of their release. “This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov — is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?”<br /><br />The comment refers to reports that the military had decided that it could respond to cyber attacks from foreign countries with traditional military force.<br />Senate staffers were alerted about the breach late Monday.<br /><br />“Although this intrusion is inconvenient, it does not compromise the security of the Senate's network, its members or staff,” Bradford said in a statement. "Specifically, there is no individual user account information on the server supporting senate.gov that could have been compromised.”<br /><br />“The hackers may have done the equivalent of burglarizing the Senate and bragging because they managed to steal a bunch of souvenirs from the gift shop,” said Stewart Baker, a former cyber official at the Department of Homeland Security.<br /><br />The Senate has been the frequent target of hacking attacks, with tens of thousands thwarted each month.</p>
<p>The loosely organised hacker group Lulz Security broke into a public portion of the Senate website but did not reach behind a firewall into a more sensitive portion of the network, Martina Bradford, the deputy Senate sergeant at arms, said on Monday.<br /><br />Despite the breach, the Sergeant at Arms Office, which provides security for the Senate, said that the breach had not compromised any individual senator's information.<br />Lulz announced the hack on Monday.<br /><br />“We were responding to their allegations. Basically what we’re saying that the server they got into is for public access and is in the public side,” said Bradford.<br /><br />Lulz Security, who have hacked into Sony's website and the Public Broadcasting System, posted online a list of files that appear not to be sensitive but indicate the hackers had been into the Senate's computer network.<br /><br />“We don’t like the U.S. government very much,” Lulz Security said at the top of their release. “This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov — is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?”<br /><br />The comment refers to reports that the military had decided that it could respond to cyber attacks from foreign countries with traditional military force.<br />Senate staffers were alerted about the breach late Monday.<br /><br />“Although this intrusion is inconvenient, it does not compromise the security of the Senate's network, its members or staff,” Bradford said in a statement. "Specifically, there is no individual user account information on the server supporting senate.gov that could have been compromised.”<br /><br />“The hackers may have done the equivalent of burglarizing the Senate and bragging because they managed to steal a bunch of souvenirs from the gift shop,” said Stewart Baker, a former cyber official at the Department of Homeland Security.<br /><br />The Senate has been the frequent target of hacking attacks, with tens of thousands thwarted each month.</p>