I would consider it wise to check if you have upset anyone unjustly recently.

Which part of OFF TOPIC did you fail to understand. 
Post again about it in here and you will get suspended from the site.

I wonder how long before the inmates abuse it, by sending thousands of requests for the guards each day and so destroy the whole viability of the present robots?

They only use small pistols and whips now.

I am not a tech and so would not presume to advise on that side of things, but have you considered why some one would go to the trouble of hacking you

Have you alienated some one recently? A pissed off ex or current member could do many things to a site.
Did you stupidly give your password away to someone like I did? If so, you can just claim your computer was hacked with a keylogger, which is the dead horse I have been beating for the past few years

Improving security may not be as effective, if the hacker is motivated by past grievances.

And this issue, if there, may need to be resolved in a reasonable manner as well. 

The defacing of a site has to have a reason.
You ask if there is anything else you could do. 
I would consider it wise to check if you have upset anyone unjustly recently.

In some ways I agree with you both when referring to what is generally termed script kiddies.

There are several levels of "hacking" and "hackers" if I may use those as generic terms.

While the "script kiddies may do this for the street cred as has been pointed out, I feel that the same could not be said for those 'hackers" who operate on a much higher technical level.

Some of the ex members of certain government groups who began to offer their services in the market place, after the end of the cold war, are literally "Guns for hire" and have been known to deface and attack sites that had offended some people. 

In some ways even though it could not technically be called hacking, the DDOS attacks on several sites because some one is upset with either their policies or the direction that an owner or admin is taking it 
shows that action can and has been taken against sites for some form of "payback" 


While it could be argued that such groups as "Team poison" and " Anonymous" may indeed go after some large organizations, they are a lot more advanced in their abilities than the street creed script kiddies and it could be argued that they are going after an admin or his policies rather than just going after street cred. 

There are many "attacks" done on sites for many reasons. I perhaps did not make myself clear. I was not referring to basic "script kiddies" but those who have a lot more ability.

Yes people do hire "hackers" to attack sites. I never said anything about "chump change:" As you put it. 
( I am not really sure what this means, it may be an Americanism I am unfamiliar with? I take it to mean small change but I may be wrong) I am not American. 
In fact some of the scammers for example, who hire techs or hackers to launch the attacks on sites have available a lot of money. 

When they are raking in millions of dollars weekly, a few thousand dollars to pay for the services of some hackers is not a lot of money to them if it protects their income. 
Hence the quite large numbers of DDOS attacks on some anti-fraud sites a while back. 

Your reference to hanging out a shingle is obviously facetious. however I am sure that anyone who is determined, could hire some hackers to do this type of work. 

Many scammers and or people who are using the internet fraudulently, would have a high chance of knowing others who could assist them if they wanted to attack a site. or even belong to a gang or gangs who derive their income from internet fraud. And could already have several contacts who do phishing or hacking regularly. 

The defacing of a site has to have a reason.

Yes you are correct I did say the above. even if a site was defaced to enable a script kiddy to gain some street cred then that is also a reason. So my statement seems to be correct.

I have no wish to argue with you and disturb the harmony of this forum and I would appreciate you also bearing this in mind. If I am wrong then I can accept some one pointing this out, but I think you would agree that sarcastic comments are not in the best interest of anyone. Thanks . AL.

gazza2008 has a valid point.

One possibility is that the hacker has hacked your PC with a keylogger and now has all your passwords etc. 

The first thing to do is to check.

Download SOPHOS from the web and install the free "anti-root kit" and run it.
It will find and remove certain keyloggers. 

A good free AV to run is "Malwarebytes" Many have reported very good results by using it.

As far as your site is concerned, I am sure that some of the more techy people here could offer you assistance.

It is a shame, but some hackers are the lowest of the low and so are those that support them for their own benefit. Some webmasters and support staff actually support them, hard as it is to believe. 

It would be prudent to change your passwords on a very regular basis and especially now that you are having security concerns. 

I hope that you can fix the problem easily. AL