Hackers 'take down' US Justice Department

HACKERS aligned with the global cyber-collective known as Anonymous have claimed responsibility for taking down the websites of the US Department of Justice and Universal Music Group in retaliation for charges levied earlier today by the agency against content-sharing site Megaupload.com.
Both Universalmusic.com and Justice.gov crashed and remained down as of 6pm ET.
Earlier today, the FBI shut down Megaupload.com and charged the site's founders and five others with internet piracy crimes for running "an international organized criminal enterprise."
"The government takes down Megaupload? 15 minutes later Anonymous takes down government & record label sites," a group affiliated with "Anonymous" wrote on its Twitter account.
The account, under the name @YourAnonNews identifies itself on Twitter as the infamous hacker collective, saying "We are Anonymous, We are legion, We never forgive, We never forget, Expect us."
"Megaupload was taken down w/out SOPA being law. Now imagine what will happen if it passes. The Internet as we know it will end. FIGHT BACK," the group added, in a reference to the ongoing battle in Congress over the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
The proposed legislation would crack down on the online sharing of pirated copies of music, movies and other material.
Investigators said there was no connection between arrests in their two-year investigation of Megaupload.com and the political firestorm that erupted this week over the pending vote on SOPA, according to The Wall Street Journal.