Group Hacks U.S. Law Enforcement Sites and Steals Data

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The group known as Anonymous said Saturday it hacked into some 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the United States, a data breach that at least one local police chief said leaked sensitive information about an ongoing investigation.

The loose-knit international hacking collective posted a cache of data to the Internet early Saturday, including emails stolen from officers, tips which appeared to come from members of the public, credit card numbers and other information.

Anonymous said it had stolen 10 gigabytes worth of data in retaliation for arrests of its sympathizers in the U.S. and Britain.

Tim Mayfield, a police chief in Gassville, Ark., told The Associated Press that some of the material posted online — including pictures of teenage girls in their swimsuits — was sent to him as part of an ongoing investigation. He declined to provide more details.

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