It was actually a DNS hack; someone compromised their DNS provider and redirected the domain to their own server. They did the same thing to theregister.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, and a handful of other sites that used the same DNS provider. (Promotional opportunity for namecoins? 
)
)Fleshed out info http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-05/ups-says-domain-registration-firm-unable-to-provide-access-1-.html
UPS, Vodafone, Betfair Internet Traffic Hacked
Quote
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), Betfair Group Plc (BET) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) were among companies whose websites were disrupted by an attack that redirected Internet users to a hacking holding page.
Online gaming company Betfair said in an e-mail that there may be problems with traffic “for some hours ahead.” Vodafone’s group website, which doesn’t hold customer data, was also subject to the attack, said Simon Gordon, a spokesman for the world’s biggest mobile-phone company.
The “illegal changes were reversed quickly,” said Stuart Fuller, a spokesman for Group NBT, the U.K. company which hosts the domain registrations. “While no one can completely defend against such sustained and concentrated malicious attacks we will continue to review our systems.”
Hackers changed so-called Domain Name System records without breaching the websites themselves, according to Sophos Ltd., a computer security provider. Consequently, users were taken to a third-party website. Traffic to client websites was redirected to a page branded TurkGuvenligi, NBT said.
UPS, the world’s largest provider of package deliveries, said no customer data was compromised. “A fix is in place, and we expect access to UPS.com to resume to impacted customers within a couple of hours,” Susan Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based UPS, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Access to the websites of computer-maker Acer Inc. (2353) and publications including The Register was disrupted by a hack that redirected users to the home page of the attacker, ZDNet reported. The websites for National Geographic also were affected, Sophos said.
Online gaming company Betfair said in an e-mail that there may be problems with traffic “for some hours ahead.” Vodafone’s group website, which doesn’t hold customer data, was also subject to the attack, said Simon Gordon, a spokesman for the world’s biggest mobile-phone company.
The “illegal changes were reversed quickly,” said Stuart Fuller, a spokesman for Group NBT, the U.K. company which hosts the domain registrations. “While no one can completely defend against such sustained and concentrated malicious attacks we will continue to review our systems.”
Hackers changed so-called Domain Name System records without breaching the websites themselves, according to Sophos Ltd., a computer security provider. Consequently, users were taken to a third-party website. Traffic to client websites was redirected to a page branded TurkGuvenligi, NBT said.
UPS, the world’s largest provider of package deliveries, said no customer data was compromised. “A fix is in place, and we expect access to UPS.com to resume to impacted customers within a couple of hours,” Susan Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based UPS, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Access to the websites of computer-maker Acer Inc. (2353) and publications including The Register was disrupted by a hack that redirected users to the home page of the attacker, ZDNet reported. The websites for National Geographic also were affected, Sophos said.
