The main computer system for the website for JustOut was hacked into this summer and a worm virus was introduced which caused a variety of damage to the site. The last of this damage was remedied in late July. At the time, JustOut's publisher Marty Davis stated, "I am very aware of the problems that hacking has created for my website. The problems are being handled on an hourly, daily basis. We're doing the best that we can, as fast as we can."

Accessing the site was greatly hampered for approximately six weeks after the hacker was able to insert the worm into the site's main computer. Any attempt to access the site by typing the site name directly into a browser's address bar brought up an official-looking warning page, which stated: "Reported Attack Site! This web site at www.justout.com has been reported as an attack site." And only at the very bottom of this page, in extremely tiny font, was a link which took one to the JustOut site. But even once on JustOut's site, a banner in red still ran across the top of the page warning that the site could cause harm to anyone's computer accessing the site.

Google search results for JustOut's website were also impacted by the hacker's antics. If one typed in "Portland Oregon gay news" in Google's search window, two results came back for JustOut. Clicking on either of these two search result links, instead of taking one to the JustOut site, redirected one to a warning page which looked very similar to the warning page that came up by typing the address directly into a browser address bar, and it was also stated the site was an attack site which could harm one's computer. But with the Google results, there was no link to the JustOut site anywhere on the page, so access to the site from these results was essentially blocked.

According to Google spokesperson Megan Lamb, "The warning pages appeared to be legitimate warnings from Google. What likely happened is that when the hacker hacked into the site he or she added some malicious code to the site and this prompted the Google malware warnings."

The problems at JustOut caused by the hacker have been remedied, but without the hacking incident ever being reported to authorities, for reasons unknown. Marty Davis declined to elaborate.

According to Beth Anne Steele, spokesperson for the Portland FBI field office, since federal hate crimes statutes do not include sexual orientation, the hacking of a GLBT site such as JustOut "would not be investigated by our organization as a hate crime but as a cyber crime." Steele declined to say whether there would be an investigation of the hacking of the JustOut site, and went on to say that until being contacted for this story, her office had not heard of any incidents of hacking GLBT sites in the Portland area.

But just because the FBI has no record of such hacking instances involving GLBT sites, doesn't mean it's not occurring; it is simply not getting reported to authorities. Such was the case with JustOut and with Basic Rights Oregon, another GLBT site in Portland, which was hacked in 2007.

According to Karyyn Fish, Communications Director at Basic Rights Oregon, "We have not had any incidents this year, but I had heard our site had been hacked last year. I was not there at the time. It was not reported to the FBI or any authorities."

Brian Boyd, former communications coordinator for Basic Rights Oregon, who was there at the time of the hacking, said the organization's website was attacked by hackers repeatedly in early 2007. "It happened three times, that the site got hacked over a period of three months," Boyd said. "We did not report the problem to the FBI or any authorities."

The hackers introduced malicious code to Basic Rights Oregon's main computer for its site which affected the news items and events sections. When someone clicked on items in these sections it turned into a link that led to a bogus website that said "you had been hacked."

Boyd said that in order to correct the problems at Basic Rights Oregon in terms of vulnerability to hackers, a different content management system was implemented, and no further problems have occurred. He did stress that at the time of the attack it became painfully obvious that the site's system itself was vulnerable and needed to be upgraded. "Without a doubt it is imperative to back up your site on a regular basis in today's world," Boyd said. "You have a lot to lose." Boyd went on to say that if sites for organizations such as Basic Rights Oregon are being targeted, it should definitely be considered a hate crime on a federal level so that federal agencies such as the FBI will investigate and prosecute hackers in the realm of a hate crime.

"If we are being targeted in this way it is very concerning," he added. "It comes across as a hate crime any time a gay and lesbian website is targeted. It is a repression of free speech and our rights and it should be considered a hate crime. It is disheartening and stings even more that we do not have federal protections and are relegated to a second-class citizen status. If we were any other minority group it would be considered a hate crime."

One of the most high-profile examples of hackers targeting a GLBT website occurred in August of 2007, as was reported in the Washington Post's website. The site GayGamer.net was attacked by hackers and successfully shut down for an entire weekend. According to the Post, the FBI stated at the time it did not have jurisdiction to prosecute hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and that it had not heard of other hacker hate crimes.

According to Cindi Creager, Director of National News for GLAAD, she is not aware of any other reports from national or regional GLBT organizations which have had any such problems with hackers. Laura Sweeney, Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice, stated that the federal agencies that would investigate a cyber crime such as hacking include the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. All would consider hacking a GLBT site as a cyber crime instead of a hate crime. Furthermore, there are no federal statistics on computer hackers targeting GLBT websites, simply because they are not being collected.

Sharon Stapel, Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, says that on a federal level, hate crime legislation still does not include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. "We know from our struggle in New York in getting sexual orientation included in hate crimes legislation here," she said. "It is an incredibly powerful tool to protecting those groups most vulnerable. Stapel went on to point out that there has been a spike in reported hate crimes in New York over the past several months throughout the state.

Stapel also touched on a disturbing national trend in terms of hate crimes. "What we know statistically to be true, nationally, is that hate crimes against the LGBT community rose 24 percent in 2007, according to our last hate crimes report from National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects," she said. "So the need for legislation to protect LGBT victims of bias and/or hate crimes on a federal level is vital. The lack of inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity is at odds with the sharp increase nationally for hate crimes against the LGBT community."

The federal hate crimes statutes could have been updated last year by the Matthew Shepard Act, but the bill itself seems to be in need of protection. "For all general purposes the bill died when it was stripped out of the Senate bill last year," said Thomas Howard, Programs Director at the Matthew Shepard Foundation. "At this point we are waiting for it to be reintroduced in Congress." The Matthew Shepard Act would have expanded the categories covered to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. But even the bill as it currently reads is limited only to hate crimes involving violence. So, it would not have covered hacking a GLBT website as a federal hate crime. This means that specific language would need to be added for this purpose.

Even in light of the beefed up anti-discrimination laws on the books in the state of Oregon, going after a hacker as a hate crime on a local level would be a real stretch, according to Jake Weigler, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Justice. "In 2007, as part of sexual orientation updates to the state's hate crime statutes, it is conceivable that a DA might argue that these acts might be considered intimidation," he said, "but it would be a novel application and require substantial evidation."

In terms of reporting hate crimes such as hacking, David Stacy, Senior Public Policy Advocate at the Human Rights Campaign had the final word: "When this happens, people and organizations should report it so it is investigated and those responsible are prosecuted. It is critical that law enforcement officials take these crimes seriously and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

What has been of note is the lack of information flowing from the FBI in terms of the hacking incidents in Portland. Despite the fact that the hacking of JustOut and Basic Rights Oregon went unreported at the times they occurred, the FBI is now aware of them as a result of being contacted for this story. But the FBI refuses to state whether they are investigating. There is also no word from the FBI as to whether there is a suspect, or if there is a connection between the two hacking incidents. The official policy at the FBI, according to Steele, is that "Under federal law and the Attorney General's guidelines, we are not allowed to say whether or not we have any open investigations in any particular federal case."