As a general rule, the perpetrators of website hacking wouldn't be classified as custodians of the greater good, however, on occasion they may well do a public service. Such appears to have been the case over the weekend, when a series of attacks brought the RIAA's website to its virtual knees.

According to reports, sometime over the weekend it was discovered that the RIAA's site utilized an outdated content management system with serious vulnerability to attack. Enterprising users of online social news networks passed the news along — including the revelation that the site was vulnerable to SQL-injection attacks — prompting a series of attacks that eventually wiped the entire database. At the high point of the "festivities," the site sported links to The Pirate Bay — one of the most popular file sharing sites online — as well as other "amusements."

Reportedly, the RIAA managed to regain control of the site, but observers have noted that the vulnerabilities that resulted in the attacks have yet to be patched, meaning that — much like the greater RIAA vs. MP3 wars — only time will tell if the Association can maintain control.

Read more.