Hackers release Arizona state Sb1070 files

A growing hacker collective has broken into the Department of Public Safety website of the US State of Arizona (AZDPS) and released hundreds of classified documents online.The Thursday evening release, announced on the group's twitter page, accompanied by a press release on its website, gives away a trove of "private intelligence bulletins, training manuals, personal email correspondence, names, phone numbers, addresses and passwords belonging to Arizona law enforcement" in a file called 'chinga la migra' - Spanish for '[expletive] the border police'.

Hiding behind complex levels of internet anonymity, Lulz Security has gained notice recently for hacking websites such as the CIA, US Senate, weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. and multiple intrusions into various Sony websites.The name 'Lulz' in itself is a play off of internet language - of 'laughing out loud', and the group normally ends press releases with "laughing at your security since 2011".

But the latest release stands out from the others, taking a much more serious and politically targeted approach.

Press release

The release states: "We are targeting AZDPS specifically because we are against SB1070 and the racial profiling anti-immigrant police state that is Arizona."

'SB1070' refers to a senate bill, which enables unprecedented levels of communication between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, therefore allowing measures as harsh as deportation for undocumented immigrants guilty of nothing more than a minor traffic violation.

The release continues: "Every week we plan on releasing more classified documents and embarassing personal details of military and law enforcement in an effort not just to reveal their racist and corrupt nature but to purposefully sabotage their efforts to terrorize communities fighting an unjust 'war on drugs'.

"Hackers of the world are uniting and taking direct action against our common oppressors - the government, corporations, police, and militaries of the world. See you again real soon! ;D"

Content

The 440 megabytes of released documents and data date back several years.

Phone numbers and personal addresses of various officers were released by Lulz, and several of their phones rang constantly on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Some of the information released could have larger effects, such as this email, which seems to outline a botched sale of US radio equipment to the Mexican government.

"The FBI asked the Mexican Government to sign an "Intercept Agreement" stating that they would not use these devices to listen to U.S. Government radio traffic, and the Mexican Government declined to sign the agreement. The implication is that obviously the Mexican Government intends to do a lot of listening."

Another email outlined an encounter with a mysterious group of US Marines patrolling the Mexico-US border.

"U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered two subjects who claimed to be members of the Border Watch Group the Blue Lights based on the Caballo Loco Ranch. The subjects, armed with pistols and at least one M4 rifle, were dressed in full desert camouflage uniforms, similar to those of the United States military. They stated they were not members of the Minutemen, but paid contract employees who "get the job done" and "were not just volunteers". They possessed valid United States Marine Corps identification cards."

This most recent release of government data comes as loose and open hacking collectives expand their online attacks around the world, and with near impunity.

Crackdown

But in a new case, a British 19-year-old suspected of involvement with Lulz has been remanded in police custody in London.

Ryan Cleary was arrested on Monday at his home in Wickford, southeast England, as part of a probe by Scotland Yard and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into Lulz Security.

British police on Wednesday charged Cleary with targeting the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency - Britain's version of the FBI - in an online attack that slowed its servers.

Three people in Spain were arrested a week earlier for alleged involvement in the Anonymous hacking collective.

These arrests send a signal to hackers that their invasions won't be tolerated, but they could also give them ideas of how to protect themselves in future hack attacks.

Either way, hackers seem to be operating with attacks at a building frequency, and "laughing at your security since 2011".