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Hackers affiliated with the group Anonymous are taking credit for hacking the Springfield city website and obtaining the Social Security numbers and other personal information of thousands of citizens.
City officials announced Monday that the springfieldmo.gov site was hacked Feb. 17 and that about 2,100 people were being notified their information may be “compromised.”
The loosely organized group Anonymous is suspected of hacking businesses and government agencies around the world.
In online chat rooms and associated websites, groups with the monikers Kahuna and CabinCr3w said data was taken from the Springfield Police Department database as part of a larger effort targeting law enforcement agencies.
The data they claim to have obtained includes online police reports, as well as warrant and summons information. That data, the groups say, includes citizen information such as Social Security numbers, cell phone numbers, home address and physical description.
Why Springfield was targeted is unclear. One website claiming credit included a line saying, “Reason ???” that was followed by a 1-minute, 51 second video that begins with the words, “We Are Anonymous.” The video then shows scenes of law enforcement officers – none of which appear to be Springfield Police officers – using force to detain people or disperse crowds.
One website claimed more than 6,000 reports containing personal information was obtained. Tuesday, city spokeswoman Cora Scott said city information technology staff are confident that “the 2,100 number is a solid number” in terms of actual victims.
Springfield officials have released few details about the breach and have refused to say how the city learned of the issue or identify the agency or agencies investigating.
Police Chief Paul Williams did refer a News-Leader reporter to the FBI but declined to confirm or deny whether the federal agency was involved in the investigation.
Spokeswoman Bridget Patton said the FBI “is aware of these reports but at this point we cannot comment any further.”
Article source: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120229/NEWS01/302290045/1264/RSS
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