Threat to bring down Parliament website taken seriously

A threat by internet activist group Anonymous to shut down Parliament's website today is being taken seriously, says Parliamentary Services.

The "denial of service" threat is part of a protest against a change to copyright laws aimed at preventing illegal file sharing by internet users.

The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill allows copyright owners to send evidence of alleged infringements to internet service providers (ISPs), who will then send up to three infringement notices to the account holder.

The bill was passed under urgency earlier this month.

Parliamentary Services general manager Geoff Thorn told NZPA the threat was being taken "seriously" and staff were monitoring the situation.

"We are confident our website will stand up to what ever they do, we have adequate firewalls in place," Mr Thorn said.

He said he did not know how real the threat was.

Anonymous, an international internet activist group, said the law change "crossed the line" and warned the New Zealand Government saying: "We will make a quick example of you".

The group has launched a number of attacks on websites around the world including taking down Egyptian government sites during protests against ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

- NZPA