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February 06, 2012

'Anonymous' Embarrasses FBI, Scotland Yard

By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor

Anonymous – the hackers group which has baffled police around the world – struck once again on Friday – in a major embarrassment for law enforcement.



The hackers were able to record a private meeting last month between the FBI and Scotland Yard, which was focused on the hacking group.  Later, Anonymous published the 17-minute conference call online for the world to see. It was posted on YouTube (News - Alert), The BBC reported.

“The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now,” Anonymous added in an online comment.

Anonymous may have been able to illegally tap into the meeting after it possibly hacked the e-mails of a European investigator – one of 40 who was invited to take part in the call – which gave information about how to access the call, according to a report appearing on TMCnet. “A conference call is planned for next Tuesday (January 17, 2012) to discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups,” Anonymous quoted from the confidential e-mail.

On Friday, one respected security analyst put some of the blame for the embarrassment on the law enforcement officials themselves.

“A law enforcement agency using unencrypted, unsecure communications is a major fumble,” Marcus Carey, who secured communications for the U.S. National Security Agency (News - Alert) before going to work for Rapid7, told The Associated Press. “What if this event was talking about some terrorist plot to blow up something and ‘they’ were listening in?”

Meanwhile, the FBI said that a “criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible,” according to The AP.

Also on Friday, Anonymous also attacked the Boston police department website in response to police actions in connection with the Occupy Wall Street movement, according to news reports.

Anonymous may have also attacked the Justice Ministry’s website in Greece. Prior targets have included businesses and government agencies globally.



Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell
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