Frame ... tributes to L Ron Hubbard hang inside the Church of Scientology in Sydney / Jeff DarmaninAnonymous, whose membership included hackers, has begun a "third wave" of attacks in the week-old operation dubbed “Project Chanology”.
The group has already flooded Scientology servers, preventing access to at least one of the church's websites.
Chief executive of the 7safe.com security firm Alan Phillips told Sky News in the UK that the group may have used a denial of service attack to take the Scientology website out of service.
“It would appear, that in this case, they’ve taken down the website by using a denial of service attack, where they basically fire lots and lots of different bits of information into the one place so… no one else can access it,” Mr Phillips said.
A spokesman for the Church of Scientology told NEWS.com.au that the church was not the "right target" for these kinds of attacks.
"These types of people have got some wrong information about us," the spokesman said.
The group also claimed to have downloaded many of the church’s “secret documents” – which can now be downloaded from popular file-sharing sites.
Anonymous said their actions will not be restricted to their websites, with protests outside Scientology buildings being organised throughout the US.
Earlier today, a message about a possible attack point on the main Scientology website appeared on a Project Chanology webpage.
“We found the direct IP (Internet Protocol address) to www.scientology.org, not protected,” the message said.
Today Anonymous released an updated “Open letter to Scientology”, following its declaration of war last week.
“By now you have certainly become aware of us and our actions,” the statement said.
“We have commenced our assault upon your institution and would like to take this moment to enlighten you.
"We are Anonymous, you might know think of us as merely a hacker group, but we are much more.
“We are the protectors of knowledge, we are the 'internet hate machine'.”
In a message posted on YouTube earlier this week, the group said it was tired of the methods used by the church to stem criticism of Scientology.
The church is famous for vigorously attacking its critics, often taking legal action against them or attempting to undermine their credibility.
“Anonymous has therefore decided your organisation should be destroyed, for the good of your followers, for the good of mankind and for our own enjoyment,” a synthesised voice said in the clip.
“We shall systematically expel you from the internet and proceed to dismantle the Church of Scientology in its current form.”
Watch the video clip:
According to respected technology magazine Wired, Anonymous usually focused on bullying and downloading pirated software and files.
“The group usually amuses itself by stealing passwords to downloading sites and finding ways to harass online communities that its members disdain,” a blog on the website said.
"They were last seen on (Wired security blog) Threat Level when a Los Angeles Fox News affiliate ran a story that hilariously implied the group's arsenal included exploding vans.”
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