Anonymous, AntiSec Hack US Police Websites

Notorious hacker collectives AntiSec and Anonymous have hacked into 70-some law enforcement websites from around the United States, in what they say is retaliation for last month's arrests of hackers around the world, reports the AP. The groups managed to snare "a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to (embarrass), discredit, and incriminate police officers across the US," they said in a statement. About 10 gigabytes of information was posted online early yesterday, which included officer emails, credit card numbers, and reported tips.

At least one police officer confirmed that the information posted, of teenage girls in swimsuits, was from an ongoing investigation. Most of the emails came from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi, and many were operated by the same media hosting company. Anonymous said it posted the information to "demonstrate the inherently corrupt nature of law enforcement," but security experts said the websites' poor security was also a motivation. "It seems to me to be low-hanging fruit," said one security analyst. (More Anonymous stories.)