Hackers have once again disabled the Web site of the Recording Industry Association of America, a group of record labels that is leading the charge in the crackdown on online music piracy. The attack, which began Friday, has caused the site to be unavailable for three days, an RIAA representative confirmed Monday. It follows several other malicious attacks on the site last summer.
"How pathetic that those who want free music don"t believe in free speech," RIAA spokeswoman Amy Weiss said in a statement. "We will continue to fight theft on the Internet and work hard to make sure that songwriters, artists and other copyright holders continue to get paid for their work."
An RIAA representative declined to speculate on who was behind the attack or the reasons for it. The site appeared to have been seized by a denial-of-service attack, the same type of problem that brought down the site in July. The RIAA is working to restore the Web site, and the FBI and United States Secret Service are investigating the attacks, according to Weiss. Such attacks are illegal under federal and state laws and carry penalties of up to five years in prison.