Hurtful Hack Attack

Working late tonight as we finish a segment for tomorrow's Early Show. The story is pretty alarming, especially for people with a certain type of epilepsy. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, within the last two weeks hackers broke into its site and planted flashing pornographic images and patterns on some message boards that were clearly designed to trigger headaches or seizures with people who have photosensitive epilepsy. It's a type of epilepsy experienced by about 3-5% of people with the condition. And it may be the first computer attack solely designed to cause physical harm.

For our story on the Early Show (and likely posted on CBSNews.com soon) we talk to a woman with epilepsy who says she experienced the hurtful images on the site, and after the story we'll talk to a neurologist about what triggers this type of reaction in some people. It's not entirely clear which hackers are responsible for the attack, but some security experts are pointing to the underground group known as "Anonymous," which has recently been in the news for its campaign against the Church of Scientology. Others aren't convinced it was them since the assault seems so malicious. In any case, I'm sure we'll hear more about this troubling cyberassault in the coming days and weeks.