Hackers Claim Responsibility for CIA's Website Failure

The publicly accessible website of the Central Intelligence Agency went offline Wednesday, and a notorious hacking group has claimed responsibility for it.

Lulz Security has confirmed its participation in the attacks, which brought the CIA.gov website down in cities across the world.

Lulz Security has also recently claimed to be the attacking group behind Sony's (NYSE: SNE) recent security breach. The group derives its name from the popular acronym for LOL, or laugh out loud -an indication of its mischievousness.

When contacted late Wednesday, a CIA representative told Reuters it was aware of the situation.

"We are looking into these reports," a CIA spokeswoman said.

Security analysts claim that there was likely no sensitive information available on the website, but that is little solace to vulnerable organizations. In addition to the CIA and Sony, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and the International Monetary Fund have recently been hacked.

A Reuters report notes that "Although the group, also known as Lulz Boat, fashions itself more as pranksters and activists than people with sinister intent, its members have been accused of breaking the law and are wanted by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Lulz broke into a public website of the Senate over the weekend and released data stolen from the legislative body's computer servers."

The CIA website is back online Thursday.