Wikipedia founder backs site's systems after extortion scam

Jimmy Wales says system is secure after users posed as senior editors and demanded payment from businesses

The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, has spoken out in defence of the online encyclopedia's systems for detecting and dealing with abuse for the first time since an extortion scam was uncovered, which led to hundreds of Wikipedia editor accounts being blocked.

Wales said the blocking of 381 Wikipedia editor accounts for "black hat" editing as part of an attempt to extort money from people and businesses was proof that the site's systems for detecting and dealing with abuse were working.