'Hacking attacks' hit Russian political sites

A series of alleged hack attacks have struck political sites in Russia during the country's parliamentary elections.

Radio stations, election monitors and newspapers said they came under sustained attack.

The sites' owners said they were bombarded with data in an attempt to overwhelm their computers and knock them offline.

Some of the organisations involved have blamed the assault on state-sponsored "criminals".

Over the weekend Russians voted in elections that determined the make-up of its lower house, or Duma, for the next five years.

In the run-up to voting and on the day itself, many organisations critical of the policies of the ruling party said they had suffered attack by hackers.    Full Read