Days after attack by hacking group Anonymous, the Texas Republican Party’s website is still down
- Image Capture / Internet Archive
- This banner featuring starter Pokémon Mudkip — and … umm … other stuff — appeared on the Texas Republican Party’s website on Saturday.
Six days after being hacked in protest for the Lone Star State’s near-total abortion ban, the Texas Republican Party’s website is still redirecting people to a hastily put together fundraising site.
The fundraising site, set up in a rush after Saturday’s hack, acknowledges the attack but adds that the Texas GOP has since been able to “secure our website.” It urges donors to contribute funds to strengthen the party’s online defenses against “cyber criminals and their brazen attacks.”
The replacement site includes no contact email for party officials or information about its political platform. When the Current phoned the party’s Austin offices for comment, the voicemail boxes for both its press officer and general number weren’t functioning.
Anonymous, coalition of activist hackers, took credit for the weekend attack, which commandeered the Texas GOP’s website and linked to Operation Jane, a project the group initiated to protest the state’s Republican-backed abortion law. The hackers also added a fake mission statement, trolled GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and inserted an obscene photo.
Web developers said it’s unusual for a high-traffic site such as the Texas GOP’s to remain inoperative nearly a week after a hack. The delay likely is the result of the party not having a backup for the site, said Veronica Morales, owner of San Antonio web and social media shop The Social Being.
“It’s strange,” Morales said. “Somebody should have a backup somewhere.”
The Texas Republican Party’s separate fundraising page is hosted by WinRed.com, which describes itself as the “official online fundraising platform designed to help the GOP win.”
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