Hackers Shut Down Brazil Agency Site Updated 9:24 PM ET March 16, 2000 BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Computer hackers invaded and shut down the web site of the government's telecommunications regulatory agency for nearly six hours, an agency official said Thursday.

Cyber-pirates from the United States and Canada flooded the National Telecommunications Agency's site with 600 hits per second in the first 90 minutes of the attack, which began Wednesday morning, said Flavia Magalhaes, an agency representative.

The overload caused the site to crash but caused no content damage, she said.

Wednesday's attack marked the latest in a series of recent assaults on Brazilian sites, including those of the Science and Technology Ministry and the Supreme Court.

Justice Ministry officials are working to design a bill punishing hacking crimes.

http://news.excite.com/news/ap/000316/21/brazil-hackers

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 16, 2000