Hackers strike back to support WikiLeaks founder

JILL LAWLESS, RAPHAEL G. SATTER,Associated Press

LONDON — WikiLeaks supporters struck back Wednesday at perceived enemies of the site and its jailed founder Julian Assange, launching hack attacks against MasterCard, Swedish prosecutors, a Swedish lawyer and a Swiss group that froze Assange's bank account.

So-called hacktivists operating under the label "Operation Payback" claimed responsibility in a Twitter message for causing technological problems at MasterCard, which pulled the plug on its relationship with WikiLeaks on Tuesday.

MasterCard said it was "experiencing heavy traffic," but...