Gubernatorial candidate's website hacked

Independent gubernatorial candidate Tony O’Connor’s campaign website has temporarily been shut down due to hackers.

O’Connor of Derby said hijackers replaced his message with an anti-war message reading, "Joomla! Hacked By Swan/ Ottoman-Empire/ Stop War Of Iraq!"

“It made me laugh because the governor has no say in stopping the war,” O’Connor said. “I have nothing on my website that had anything to do with the war in Iraq.”

If anyone were to criticize him it would be supporting decriminalization of marijuana which, he said, is one of his most controversial and radical issues.

The website has been hacked since at least last Saturday according to O’Connor who was notified by a reporter from Ch 5. The following day at a small rally he mentioned the hacked website during his speech.

A supporter in the crowd, Allen Wooley, offered to help O’Connor regain control of the website free of charge.

“He has been a lifesaver,” O’Connor said.

The campaign’s initial website designer, Eric Thompson, has not been helpful and will not return O’Connor’s phone calls he said.

Currently, the website reads: “This site has been hack-attacked, but we are trying to recover. Watch for further developments both for the site and for the campaign. Like a phoenix this site will rise again from the ashes of hack-attacks.”

Wooley has regained control of the website said O’Connor. He and O’Connor will sit down tonight to go over web design and what material will be on website. They hope to have the new website back online by Monday at the latest.

“I don’t know why anybody would want to do it to me,” O’Connor said. “I don’t have any suspicions about anyone.”

Even though Wooley could possibly trace the hacker, O’Connor said he doesn’t want to know who did it.
“What good is it going to do me?” he asked. "If it’s someone I know that’s even worse. I don’t see what I could benefit from being angry and I want to move on.”

He said he needs this website because he has limited money funding his campaign.

O’Connor described himself as an unusual and unique right-wing conservative candidate for governor. He is a triple amputee who lost both of his legs and his right arm when he was 16 in an accident.

O’Connor is Pro-99, which lies somewhere in the middle of being pro-life and pro-choice. He also says that the drinking age should be pushed back to 18.