[September 27, 2011] Political 'hacks' target Marzullo, Grad campaign websites Tweet Sep 27, 2011 (Connecticut Post - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Just when it seemed like there was nothing left in this world to outsource, along come a new set of political hacks. Computer hackers from Bangladesh, of all places, are being blamed for crashing the campaign websites of Greenwich Democrats Drew Marzullo and Bill Grad for several hours on Sunday. Marzullo, seeking a second term as a selectman, joked Monday that a person has "made it in life when you've been hacked." Marzullo's supporters tipped him off Sunday morning that there was a problem with his website, drewmarzullo.com, which he then tried unsuccessfully to open in his Internet browser. "It did say, 'You have been hacked by Bangladeshis,'" Marzullo said. For the record, Marzullo has never been to Bangladesh, which borders India and is a major tea exporter. No, not the tea party. "To be honest, I started laughing," Marzullo said. Both candidates use the same Internet hosting service, which they identified as Web Hosting Hub of Virginia Beach, Va. An automated message on the company's toll-free hot line Monday acknowledged that there was a widespread computer breach over the weekend and that its technical support staff was inundated with calls. It directed customers to a letter on the company's website. "Dear Customer, at around 4 a.m. EST, our system administration team identified a website defacement attack affecting a large number of customers," the letter read. Grad, who is running for tax collector, shrugged off the episode. His website is billgrad.com. "I don't think it was aimed at me or Drew," Grad said. "I have no conspiracy theories, absolutely none." The website partyhardpolitics.com, an amalgamation of pop culture and politics created by several Greenwich High School graduates, also fell prey to the same internet breach. "It was, unfortunately, one of those things that was out of our hands," said Jack Appelbaum, one of the website's founders and a Georgetown University sophomore who was president of his senior class at Greenwich High School. Appelbaum helped both Marzullo and Grad create their campaign websites. "The hackers were named 'Tiger M@te,'" Appelbaum wrote to Greenwich Time Monday. "I think they have a history of hacking in Bangladesh, including Google's Bangladesh website, according to a quick Google search." Frank Farricker, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, couldn't help but get in a zinger at the political opposition. "They can't even use good old American hackers," Farricker said facetiously. "Not that I'm saying that Republicans did it." Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at [email protected] or at 203-625-4436. ___ (c)2011 the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.) Visit the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.) at www.ctpost.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]