Vatican website targeted with multiple hack attempts, ‘abnormal’ access
The Vatican has been combating a stream of cyber attacks since Tuesday, a church official confirms.
Beginning Tuesday morning, users have reported issues accessing the Vatican’s official website. Attempts to access the site have frequently been met with 404 error responses.
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Vatican Swiss Guards stand at attention in front of St. Peter’s Basilica prior to the arrival of Pope Francis to celebrate Easter Mass, Sunday, April 1, 2018.
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A series of attempts to compromise the Catholic Church’s central website is what has forced the page to go down repeatedly this week, according to the Vatican.
“Technical investigations are ongoing due to abnormal attempts to access the site,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told Reuters on Wednesday. Bruni reportedly offered no further details.
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The Vatican website is a hub for users to read papal addresses, reference church calendars, as well as connect to Catholic charities and outreach programs.
It also offers its own internal news service and daily bulletins of Pope Francis and his engagements.
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Pope Francis is welcomed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev upon his arrival at Nur-Sultan International Airport on Sept. 13, 2022.
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As of Thursday morning, Fox News Digital has been able to access the site, but has been given sporadic 404 errors when navigating it.
The Vatican’s website is a frequent target for cyber attacks.
In 2018, the Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong were the targets of alleged Chinese state-backed hackers.
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The tapestry depicting late Pope John Paul I hangs from St. Peter’s Basilica during the beatification ceremony led by Pope Francis at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
In 2015, the personal data of journalists at Vatican radio was leaked online and the Vatican’s website hacked twice in several days, with both attacks attributed to the amorphous Internet activist group Anonymous.
The group claimed to have taken down the Vatican website to protest everything from Catholic doctrine to the sexual abuse of children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.