* Arizona DPS confirms "computer issues"
* Group says it hacked computer to protest immigration law
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Computer hackers who
previously broke into a U.S. Senate server and brought down the
CIA web site struck an Arizona police web site on Thursday.
Lulz Security, saying it opposed a tough anti-immigration
law in Arizona, said it was releasing documents that related to
border control and other law enforcement activities. Its
headline was "Chinga La Migra," Spanish for a more profane way
of saying "Screw Immigration."
It released contact information for several people. Reuters
was able to reach two of them to establish that they were
accurate.
"We are aware of computer issues," said Steve Harrison, a
spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, "We're
looking into it. And of course we're taking additional security
safeguards."
The Mexico border state passed a law last year ordering
police to check the immigration status of anyone suspected to
be in the United States illegally, in a bid to curb illegal
immigration and border-related crime.
A majority of Americans supported the measure, but outraged
opponents charged it was unconstitutional and would lead to the
harassment of Hispanic-Americans, and called for an economic
boycott of the desert state.
The most controversial parts of the law were blocked by a
federal judge shortly before it came into effect last July,
although Arizona is pursuing an appeal.
FEW ARRESTS
Lulz, a group of rogue hackers who have not been
identified, posts the results of its hacks on Twitter, the
microblogging site where the group has cultivated more than
240,000 followers.
So far LulzSec's publicized assaults on Sony Corp., the
CIA, News Corp's Fox TV and other targets have mostly resulted
in temporary disruptions of some websites and the release of
user credentials.
There have been few arrests in the hacks. British police
said Tuesday that they had arrested a 19-year-old man on
suspicion that he was connected to attacks on Sony, the CIA and
a British police unit that fights organized crime.
Spanish police earlier this month apprehended three men on
suspicion they helped Anonymous, a second rogue hacking group
that has teamed up with LulzSec.
Hacker attacks forced Brazil to shut down its presidential
website and other government sites temporarily Thursday, a
day after cyber attacks briefly disabled other government
sites.
LulzSec, whose hacks started to hit headlines last month,
has published the email addresses and passwords of thousands of
alleged subscribers to porn sites, it temporarily took down the
public website of the CIA, and it published data from internal
servers of the U.S. Senate.
Security experts who have researched LulzSec's origins say
it emerged from Anonymous, which became famous for attacking
the companies and institutions that oppose WikiLeaks and its
founder, Julian Assange. Anonymous also attacked Sony and
governments around the globe that it considered oppressive.
LulzSec's members are believed to be scattered around the
world, collaborating via secret Internet chat rooms. Suspected
leaders include hackers with the handles Kayla, Sabu and
Topiary, security experts say.
The group's name is a combination of lulz, which is slang
for laughs, and sec, which stands for security.
(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in Phoenix and Roberto
Samora in Sao Paulo)
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jim Finkle; Editing by Paul
Simao)
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