LulzSec hacks Arizona police computers
Hacking outfit LulzSec
release 700 documents belonging to
Arizona Department of Public Safety
The hacking group known as LulzSec has published about 700 confidential documents belonging to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS). The cache includes e-mails, memos and training manuals as well as intelligence bulletins detailing work with informants. The group said it had targeted AZDPS because of a controversial state law designed to stop illegal immigration.
On 24 June, Lulzsec announced that it was putting 400MB of documents on the Pirate Bay file-sharing website via a short message on its Twitter feed and a statement on its website.
It said that AZDPS had been targeted because of its role in upholding the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, also known as SB1070. The legislation, passed in 2010, forces legal aliens to carry their ID documents at all times. It also obliges Arizona police to check those papers when they have a reasonable suspicion that a person may be there illegally.
Who are LulzSec?
Lulz Security, commonly abbreviated as LulzSec, is a computer hacker group that claims responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of over 1,000,000 user accounts from Sony in 2011. The group also claimed responsibility for taking the CIA website offline. It has gained attention due to its high profile targets and the sarcastic messages it has posted in the aftermath of its attacks.
LulzSec draws its name from the neologism “Lulz,” (from LOLs) which often signifies laughter at the victim of a prank, and “Sec,” short for “Security”. The Wall Street Journal has characterized its attacks as closer to Internet pranks rather than serious cyber-warfare, while the group itself claims to possess the capability of stronger attacks. It has gained attention in part due to its brazen claims of responsibility and lighthearted taunting of corporations that have been hacked. It frequently refers to Internet memes when defacing websites. The group first emerged in May 2011.
LulzSec Motto: “Laughing at your security since 2011”
The LulzSec website, created in June 2011, plays the theme from The Love Boat. It announces its exploits via Twitter and its own website, often accompanied with lighthearted ASCII art of boats. Its website also includes a Bitcoin donation to help fund its activities. Although the number of members and exact motivation of the group are unknown, Ian Paul of PC World has written that, “As its name suggests, LulzSec claims to be interested in mocking and embarrassing companies by exposing security flaws rather than stealing data for criminal purposes.”
The group’s first recorded attack was against Fox.com’s website. It claimed responsibility for leaking information, including passwords, altering several employees’ LinkedIn profiles, and leaking a database of X Factor contestants containing contact information of 73,000 contestants. They claimed to do so because the rapper Common had been referred to as “vile” on air.
LulzSec does not appear to hack for financial profit. The group’s claimed main motivation is to have fun by causing mayhem. They do things “for the lulz” and focus on the possible comedic and entertainment value of attacking targets. The group occasionally has claimed a political message. When they hacked PBS, they stated they did so in retaliation for what they perceived as unfair treatment of Wikileaks in a Frontline documentary entitled WikiSecrets. A page they inserted to the PBS website included the title “FREE BRADLEY MANNING. FUCK FRONTLINE!” The June 20 announcement of “Operation Anti-Security” contained justification for attacks on government targets, citing supposed government efforts to “dominate and control our Internet ocean” and accusing them of corruption and breaching privacy. Along with WikiLeaks and Anonymous, LulzSec is another organization for governments and corporations to worry about.
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Anonymous with a sense of humor.