Madrid, Spain, Aug 19, 2011 / 08:13 am
Issues with World Youth Day's official website are due to hacking attempts, the event's press office announced Aug. 19.
While Pope Benedict XVI ate lunch with 12 youth from around the world, the press office issued a statement explaining that “out of respect for the millions of people who are following us around the world and the 4,900 accredited communication professionals at WYD, we believe it is necessary to inform the public about this hacking attempt.”
The organizers said they regret “any distress caused” and confirmed they are working to resolve the issue.
The official site can be viewed at: www.madrid11.com
“WYD is also grateful for all the support that it continues to receive from the overwhelming majority of Spanish people and people worldwide, who share with us the desire of freedom for all, always through peaceful and respectful means.”
The website began experiencing problems on Aug. 15, when organizers confirmed that the site was being relentlessly attacked. Although technicians were successful in preventing the destruction or modification of the content, they were not able to stop several “Denial of Service” (DOS) attacks, which took temporarily down the site on several occasions.
The delivery of electronic press releases to journalists has also been affected.
“While we recover the normal functioning of the website, we invite you to continue the conversation through our news aggregator www.somos.madrid11.com,” organizers said.