Microsoft Corp. Site Promoting Anti-Surveillance Policies Has Been Compromised

Malicious advertisers, not spies, seem to be responsible for embedding links to casino-related webpages on the website.

The site, “Digital Constitution,” which launched mid-2013 after revelations about domestic spying were leaked by ex-intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, has become a platform for Microsoft's corporate views on government surveillance.

Now, though, at the top of the site, there is injected text with keywords -- like "casino,” "blackjack,” and "roulette” -- typically used to generate voluminous search engine hits. Some new pages have been inserted to show content from other casino-related websites. The rest of the site's content appears to be intact.

The site's code suggests it is running an outdated version of the popular blogging software WordPress. “Based on the kind of content injected into the site, it does not appear to be a cyberattack claimed by any particular group or hacker -- more likely a scammer who's able to exploit a weakness in an older version of the site's software,” ZDNet reports.