Anonymous attacks US sheriffs' websites

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/07/anonymous-attacks-us-sheriffs-websites

The group known as Anonymous said on Saturday it had hacked into some 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the US, 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 on Saturday, including emails stolen from officers, tips that 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 the arrests of its sympathisers in the US and Britain.

Tim Mayfield, a police chief in Gassville, Arkansas, 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.