THE GROUP KNOWN as Anonymous said today it has hacked into 70 law enforcement websites across the United States in retaliation for arrests of its sympathisers in the US and Britain.

The hacking group also claimed to have stolen 10 gigabytes of data, including emails, credit card details, and other information from local law enforcement bodies.

A statement released by the group said:

We are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to (embarrass), discredit and incriminate police officers across the US.

It said it hoped the leak would “demonstrate the inherently corrupt nature of law enforcement using their own words” and “disrupt and sabotage their ability to communicate and terrorize communities.”

The claims could not all be verified immediately but a review of the sites it claims to have targeted showed that most were unavailable or had been wiped clean of content.

The sites were mainly sheriffs’ offices in places such as Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi.

The group also posted five credit card numbers it said it used to make “involuntary donations.”

Associated Press says at least four of the names and other personal details published to the Internet appeared genuine.

At least two sheriff’s offices confirmed the cyber attack.

The FBI is  believed to be investigating the attacks.

Anonymous has increasingly been targeted by law enforcement in the United States and elsewhere following a string of high-profile data thefts and denial of service attacks — operations which block websites by flooding them with traffic.

Last month the FBI and British and Dutch officials carried out 21 arrests, many of them related to the group’s attacks on Internet payment provider PayPal Inc.

- AP