JOHNSTOWN — A hacker reportedly broke into Web sites of 49 members of the U.S. House of Representatives following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday night.
The postings contained crude attacks against the president and were posted on Web sites of Republicans and Democrats.
Matthew Mazonkey, a spokesman for Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, confirmed Thursday that Murtha’s Web site was among those broken into.
“The Web sites were quickly taken down, and the House Information Resources security office is working full-time with our Web vendor to correct the issue,” Mazonkey said.
The Associated Press reported that the sites were managed by a private vendor, GovTrends of Alexandria, Va.
A spokesman for the House chief administrative officer said GovTrends let down its guard while performing an update, allowing the hacker to penetrate the sites. It also was reported that 18 House sites managed by GovTrends were defaced in August.
Constituents can always contact Murtha by calling (800) 289-2642, Mazonkey said.
