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As the World Cup soccer matches began in Brazil on Thursday, it was not just the supporters who were busy watching the first game. A group of hackers were also busy taking down all the websites that were associated with the World Cup. They attacked dozens of Brazilian websites that were linked with World Cup, including that of the main sponsor, Hyundai. They have also attacked the official World Cup website, many participating countries' websites, and even some official Brazilian sites with a Distributed Denial of Service attack.

A DDoS attack happens when the main server is flooded with requests from multiple computers. These multiple systems are compromised and are controlled remotely by hackers to send massive traffic to the targeted server.  As a result of this attack, the server stops responding to the requests of legitimate users because it is busy responding to the requests coming from the hacked systems.

The Anonymous hackers group used this technique because it is simple and effective. The idea behind this attack is not to deface the game or the website, but simply to register their protest. Prior to the start of the World Cup, many groups in Brazil have been protesting the massive spending that is being done on this sporting event when millions of people live without access to basic facilities. This cyber attack is a form of attack taken to further this cause through a different medium.

This attack comes on the heels of another one that took place last month. This previous attack broke into the foreign Ministry's email service to hack into the classified documents of the Brazilian government and the World Cup. Through this attack, confidential information such as the list of foreign dignitaries planning to attend the event fell into the hands of the hackers.

The next few weeks will be important for both the hackers and the Brazilian government, and it will be interesting to see the actions that are taken by both the sides.