Perry campaign says message was hacked

by April Castro
The Associated Press

An attempt by Republican Gov. Rick Perry to jump-start his re-election campaign via the Internet was sabotaged by a hacker, his campaign said Tuesday, calling the attack "political sabotage."

In what may be the closest he comes to a formal campaign kickoff, Perry spoke with supporters in what was to be live streaming video via the Internet from a closed San Antonio event.

But when many users tried to access the speech on Perry’s campaign site, they got a message instead saying "unable to connect to database server."

The event was "deliberately interrupted by a denial-of-service attack, preventing countless users from logging in to view the governor’s remarks," campaign spokesman Mark Miner said. "This planned and coordinated attack was political sabotage, and we are working to identify those responsible for this illegal activity."

Miner said more than 22,000 users were able to log in and view Perry’s complete remarks before the attack.

Perry has already said he’s seeking a third full term. He’s facing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the March 2010 GOP primary.

"What an embarrassing campaign launch," Hutchison spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said. "I’m sure the governor is hacked but we are skeptical their site was. After all, Rick Perry isn’t exactly a stranger when it comes to arrogantly blaming others for his mistakes."

Asked if he thought the Hutchison campaign was responsible for the attack, Miner said, "I hope not."

At the San Antonio headquarters of Holt Caterpillar, Perry seemed relaxed and unaware of the technical problems as he spoke to a live audience of less than 200 people.

In the brief comments, Perry reiterated his fiscally conservative platform, offering proposals that would make it harder for the state to raise taxes.

"We need to take the tax cut the Texas Legislature extended to 40,000 small businesses during the last session and make it permanent," Perry said. "Texans also deserve the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to increase state taxes."

Perry also said the state needs to purge laws and regulations that stifle Texas entrepreneurs.

"To get that done, I’m going to need your vote and much, much more," Perry told his supporters. "I also need you to spread the word, letting your friends and neighbors know the truth about the challenges we face."