Go Daddy suffers Web outage after alleged hacker attack

The website for Go Daddy, a major Web hosting company and domain name registrar, was down on Monday and several companies that use its hosting service complained via Twitter that their websites were also inaccessible.

A Twitter user named "Anonymous Own3r," who appears to be associated with the hacker group Anonymous, claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet to the tech blog TechCrunch. Additionally, a Twitter account associated with the hacker group, "@Anon_Central," tweeted: "All servers are Tango Down- godaddy.com."

Go Daddy is one of the largest Web hosting providers and the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company claims that it's the number one registrar of domain names worldwide. The attack on Go Daddy is believed to have affected millions of websites.

Go Daddy acknowledged that its site was down via its company Twitter account.

"Status Alert: Hey, all. We're aware of the trouble people are having with our site. We're working on it," the company tweeted.

Go Daddy later signaled that it was being flooded with messages from concerned customers by tweeting: "So many messages, can't get to you all... Sorry to hear all your frustration. We're working feverishly to resolve as soon as possible."

Several business owners that use Go Daddy's hosting service took to Twitter to ask "Anonymous Own3r" why they were hurting other innocent companies when the attack was ultimately aimed at Go Daddy.

When responding to a question from a Mashable reporter, the user tweeted: "I'm taking godaddy down bacause [sic] well i'd like to test how the cyber security is safe and for more reasons that i can not talk now."

Earlier this year several Internet activists rallied on Reddit and launched a boycott against Go Daddy for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act. They threatened to move their domain names en masse to another registrar. Go Daddy later reversed its support for the anti-piracy bills.