Hackers affiliated with Anonymous have broken into the websites of law enforcement agencies across the U.S. and around the world, stealing confidential data with Anonymous taking credit, the Associated Press (News - Alert) reports.

Police departments in Boston, Syracuse, New York, Salt Lake City, and Greece have all reported being hacked.

The hacking collective Anonymous claimed responsibility for the hacks in Boston. The attack was apparently in retaliation for the Boston police arresting protesters during the Occupy Wall Street protests last fall.

“So you get your kicks beating protesters? That's OK; we get kicks defacing ... your websites — again,” a message on an Anonymous website said.

A message posted by Anonymous on the hacked Boston Police website read “Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS.”

The attacks on the Boston Police and others apparently won’t be the last. “There is plenty more mayhem to deliver,” the message added.

A Boston Police spokesperson said that the attack interfered with their ability to communicate safety information to the public.

The Salt Lake City Police website was targeted apparently because of an anti-graffiti bill in Utah that failed to be passed in the state Senate. If enacted, it would have outlawed possession of any instrument, tool or device that could be used to create graffiti.

Anonymous appeared to target the website for the police department in Syracuse, New York because the group felt that police were not investigating a coach accused of child abuse as fast as they would like.

No confidential information was stolen in this attack, but the site was still down on Friday due to both the Syracuse police and the FBI conducting an investigation into the attack.

Anonymous members also recently hacked into a conference call the FBI was conducting about hackers, in a bit of poetic justice.

Outside of the U.S., the Greek and Cypriot arms of Anonymous claimed credit on a hack that defaced the Greek Justice Department website.

Besides law enforcement agencies, Anonymous also claimed credit for an attack on the website of a law firm of Puckett & Faraj, who represented a U.S. Marine convicted of dereliction of duty in an attack in 2005 in Iraq that killed 25 civilians.

Anonymous-affiliated hackers also launched a denial of service attack on one of Brazil’s largest banks, Banco Bradesco SA, in a protest against corruption.