Two arrested over hacking of Fine Gael site

TWO young men have been arrested on suspicion of computer hacking which crashed the Fine Gael website.

One was detained in the Midlands, while a second man was held in the Galway area.

Computers and other digital media devices were taken from both of the men’s homes for forensic examination.

The suspects were being questioned on suspicion of criminal damage linked to a series of cyber attacks which shut down the Fine Gael site in January and other sites outside Ireland.

The hacking investigation was launched after a revamped website for the Fine Gael party was broken into on January 9 and contact details of 2,000 subscribers accessed.

The site contained a message from party leader Enda Kenny.

The website — hosted by a US company — was allegedly targeted by the “Anonymous” group, best known for its co-ordinated attacks on companies opposed to the whistleblowing site, WikiLeaks, which is run by Julian Assange.

The four-hour attack saw the Fine Gael homepage replaced by a message credited to the Anonymous group and referred to censorship.

Hackers are believed to have had access to email, phone numbers and computer details of subscribers.

The FBI was also involved in the investigation. The agency had been called in by American internet firm ElectionMall, which reported the attack to US authorities.

A Garda spokesman said equipment and chemicals used to produce illegal drugs were also seized in one of the raids.

The operation was carried out by officers from the Garda Computer Crime Investigation Unit attached to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation.

The two suspects were taken in for questioning to different garda stations under section four of the Criminal Justice Act.

A Garda spokesman said the investigation had not concluded and would continue.