Hackers target House.gov

No part of the federal government is safe from cyber attacks, and that includes the Congress. Last week, hackers broke into the websites of more than a dozen members of the House of Representatives, and replaced portions of their home pages with digital graffiti. Does that sound like a political dirty trick? Maybe, but the intruders hit both sides of the aisle.

The sites defaced included those belonging to Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and Harry Mitchell (D-AZ).

A spokesman for the House's chief administrative officer said the sites were vulnerable because an outside contractor failed to adhere to the required security standards, but he emphasized that the break-ins did not result in the theft or loss of any sensitive data or materials.

The vendor, GovTrends, a web design company based in Alexandria, VA, said the House offices never changed passwords assigned to them, and that most of those passwords could easily be guessed.

For more on the House intrusions:
- see this Washington Post article