Security Firm Says Attack Is Large and Sophisticated; Site Remains Online in City
By PAUL MOZUR in Beijing and CHESTER YUNG in Hong Kong CONNECT
Updated June 20, 2014 7:45 a.m. ET
The website of a poll gauging Hong Kong residents’ opinions on elections was repeatedly hit by severe cyberattacks on its opening day, according to organizers and a firm seeking to protect the poll from such attacks.
The online assault, which Web-security firm CloudFlare termed one of the largest and most sophisticated denial-of-service attacks in history, followed a week of other remote efforts at shutting down the poll, which centers on whether residents will be able to nominate other candidates than those approved by Beijing in 2017 elections in the city.
Pro-democracy supporters show thumbs-up signs during ceremony to mark the start of a symbolic referendum on democracy in Hong Kong. Associated Press
On Friday morning, about three hours before polling was set to begin, a series of high-volume and sophisticated attacks began on the poll’s popvote.hk site, according to Matthew Prince, the chief executive of CloudFlare, which provides Web-performance and security services for more than a million websites.
From:http://online.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-democracy-poll-is-hit-by-cyberattack-1403258663