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LulzSec, Anonymous announce hacking campaign

As part of the united "AntiSec" campaign, groups take credit for taking UK police site offline. They are encouraging others to steal and leak classified information.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills
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Hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec said today they are uniting in a campaign aimed at banks, government agencies, and other high-profile targets, and they are encouraging others to steal and leak classified information.

The "AntiSec" campaign appeared to have its first target earlier today--the Web site of Serious Organized Crime Agency in the United Kingdom was down. "Tango down - http://t.co/JhcjgO9 - in the name of #AntiSec," the group tweeted after releasing a statement announcing the campaign. The site was down this morning but back up at midday.

"Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including email spools and documentation," Lulzsec said in a statement. Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments. If they try to censor our progress, we will obliterate the censor with cannonfire anointed with lizard blood."

"Oldschool Internet is back. Anarchy is now - spread "AntiSec" whenever and wherever you can. Is saying 'hackers unite' too cheesy? :D" LulzSec tweeted, adding in a follow-up tweet that "DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes."

Related links
• Keeping up with the hackers (chart)
• Who is behind the hacks? (FAQ)
• Attacks on Sony, others show it's open hacking season

LulzSec recently targeted the CIA, the U.S. Senate, FBI partner Infragard, and Sony sites. The group, which aims to embarrass victims for kicks, is believed to be an offshoot of Anonymous but sometimes pretends to be at odds with Anonymous as a prank.

Anonymous is a "hacktivist" group that tends to target organizations for political reasons and in support of freedom of speech. For instance, it has targeted the governments of Iran, Egypt, and Turkey. It has also targeted Sony in retaliation for the firm's legal action against PlayStation 3 hackers, and PayPal, Visa and MasterCard after those sites dropped services that enabled whistleblower WikiLeaks to receive online contributions.