BBC website hacked

BBC Monitoring's headquarters in southern England

Hackers have broken into a BBC internal communications network and posted a web page in support of Kashmiri independence.

A server at BBC Monitoring was hacked into on 30 April and a notice from the "Silverlords for the freedom of Kashmir" placed on the website, BBC Monitoring has confirmed.

The site is used by BBC Monitoring purely as a working tool linking staff at BBC Monitoring's headquarters in Caversham near Reading to staff working overseas, a spokesperson for the BBC said.

But it does share a server with an online promotional site for BBC Monitoring, which can normally be reached through a link on several BBC Online sites, including BBC News Online.

The hacking "did not affect content aimed at clients of the Monitoring Service or any other part of BBC Online's output", the spokesperson said.

A group called Silverlords for the freedom of Kashmir hacked the site

BBC Monitoring supplies news and information from the media across the globe to the BBC and customers in government, universities and major companies.

The site was taken down early on the morning of 30 April and BBC Monitoring engineers are investigating the incident, as well as reviewing the site's security.

When this is complete, the site will be reposted on the internet.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.