WikiLeaks DoSed, appeals for donations

Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has appealed for fresh donations after it was knocked offline under the weight of a denial-of-service attack.

The site has come under fire after it released further US diplomatic cables.

"WikiLeaks.org is presently under attack," said the site said on its Twitter feed, before its main site crashed under the assault.

Noone has yet claimed responsiblility for the attacks.

Online activist known as The Jester claimed credit for a DoS attack which took down the site in November.

Wikileaks referred users to mirror sites and a searchable database, and appealed for donations to help keep the services online.

"Want to really help WikiLeaks fend of attacks? Send us money to pay the bills," the company posted in its tweet. "Many people x $5 = strength."

The site has faced difficulty attracting donations, and has ongoing legal action against MasterCard and Visa following the payment platforms' decision to stop accepting payments for WikiLeaks.