UK public-sector union DDoS'd

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union says that its website has been under sustained cyberattack for the past five days.

A statement on the union's site, which is running slowly at time of writing, said on Monday that the union "has been experiencing ongoing severe technical problems that have affected some visitors' access to the website".

The PCS discovered that the problems were the result of "a substantial denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against" the union, which is preparing for its annual conference in Brighton.

The union said its website had been flooded by "false" traffic.

It stressed that no membership data had been compromised as a result of the DDoS attack.

"It is important to note that this has had no effect on the security of the information we hold," said the PCS.

"This is a clear attempt to undermine our union at what is a critical time," said PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka, in a statement emailed to the press. "Whoever is doing it might succeed in slowing our website down for a few days but they will not silence our members." ®