Monster.com confirmed this week that it took down a portion of its online job search service after <A HREF="http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=10745">attackers hacked the site</A> and used it to feed exploits to visitors. The company did not, however, explain how the hackers were able to hijack the site.

At the start of this week, researchers began reporting the attacks after detecting IFrame exploits on several Monster.com pages as well as attacks by a multi-exploit hacker tool kit originating from those pages. By Monday evening, the Monster Company Boulevard, a section of the site that lets job hunters research firms and search for positions by company, was dark. Among the major US companies represented on the Boulevard are Boeing, Dow, Microsoft, Starbucks and Wal-Mart.