Lottery Internet site defaced

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 9:25 a.m.

DALLAS -- The Texas lottery's Internet website was attacked and temporarily defaced by hackers over the weekend, say state officials who are investigating the security breach.

Sunday night's attack was not the first for the Texas Lottery Commission's website.

Keith Elkins, the lottery commission's communications director, said other hacking incidents have been reported to the Texas attorney general's office and to the FBI.

Visitors to the site were greeted by a page that replaced the lottery commission's normal design.

Elkins said hackers left "graffiti" on the site, meaning information wasn't altered and only the appearance was changed.

"It's not a lotto drawing night," Elkins said. "It's an inconvenience to our players, and ... it's frustrating for us."

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