Anonymous hacks police forum, sends emails to police officers

Anonymous is mostly known for their real-life and online protests, DDoS attacks, and shaming of businesses and government organizations by publicly releasing confidential data stolen from their servers.

But the group has recently executed a variation on those themes by compromising a U.K. police-related forum and using the collected e-mail addresses to urge law enforcement officers to “stand with us” in the upcoming protest campaign on the 5th of November, when England celebrates Guy Fawkes Night / Bonfire Night, and Anonymous plans a peaceful protest in front of the Houses of Parliament.

“Under your uniform you are one of us and we are you. United we stand and can make this world a better place for all of us,” says the message, addressed to “members of our U.K. police and armed forces.”

“We are not against you, only against the evil system that you defend, and we appeal to your consciences to stop protecting the traitors and banksters, and protect us from them instead,” asks Anonymous.

According to the results of the investigation launched by the Metropolitan Police’s e-Crime unit (PCeU), the hackers managed to compromise the website and the databases of the UKPoliceonline.co.uk forum, on which retired and active police officers “talk shop.”

The forum is not connected in any way to the Met Police systems, and a Met spokesman assured the public that those systems haven’t been breached, reports The Telegraph.

Forum users have been advised to “take precautionary steps to protect the security of their personal email accounts.”