The hacking group known as Anonymous has claimed responsibility for shutting down a website used to share pictures of child abuse.
The group released a statement saying it has begun targeting over 40 websites responsible for posting and sharing the indecent images, the largest of which being "Lolita City."
Anonymous says it has published the login details for the site's 1,500 members online after hacking into the hosting company, Freedom Hosting.
It had previously contacted the hosts requesting that the offending content, totalling over 100GB, be removed. The request which was ignored.
100GB of images
The statement said: "We are eliminating 40+ child pornography websites, among these is Lolita City, one of the largest child pornography websites to date containing more than 100GB of child pornography."
The site and hosts were "enabling paedophiles to view innocent children, fuelling their issues and putting children at risk of abduction, molestation, rape, and death," the statement added.
'You will become a target'
The group, which spent much of 2011 targeting many of the tech world's most illustrious companies, also issued a warning to other hosting companies which enable child pornography to be shared.
"Our demands are simple. Remove all child pornography content from your servers. Refuse to provide hosting services to any website dealing with child pornography," added the statement.
"This statement is not just aimed at Freedom Hosting, but everyone on the internet.
"It does not matter who you are, if we find you to be hosting, promoting, or supporting child pornography, you will become a target."
Anonymous says the site was accessible through the Tor network which allows for complete online anonymity and defends internet users against surveillance.
It it is widely used for posting illegal materials, but also for circumnavigating widespread internet censorship in countries like China and Iran.
Via: Telegraph
