Anonymous hackers use Konami Code to embed hidden game in Government websites

The suicide of internet activist Aaron Swartz has led to a spate of attacks on US Government websites.

And in an interesting twist, their activity has focused around two mainstays of gaming history.

Naked Security reports that Anonymous hacktivists first targeted the website of the US Sentencing Commission. Once completed the hack allowed visitors to access a hidden game of retro arcade classics Asteroids on the website by entering the ‘Konami Code’ – that’s up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right (on the cursor keys) then B, A and finally enter.

The code has since been discovered to be active on other government websites, too.

The Konami Code was popularized in the 1980s and 1990s by its inclusion is many of Konami’s biggest releases. Entering it would typically unlock special features or cheats.

The Code appears in hundreds of games, both from Konami and other third party publishers. Entering it on sites such as Facebook, Google Reader and Digg will also unlock goodies for readers.

Swartz was at the time of his death facing trial over charges relating to the accessing of articles from an academic journal. Hackers are now threatening to release sensitive government information.

Picture credit: Dorkly.com