Threat Intelligence, Network Security, Threat Management

Anonymous publishes Stratfor customer data

The Anonymous hacktivist collective has struck again, on Thursday posting 200 GB of information on customers of Austin, Texas-based security think tank Stratfor harvested from its hack earlier this week of the company's website.

A missive titled "antisec teaser" and published on Pastebin (the designation "antisec" has been used in the past for joint operations of LulzSec and Anonymous), claims the group posted 75,000 names, addresses and passwords of every customer that has ever paid Stratfor for services. Additionally, the group says it posted personal information on 860,000 people who registered with the company, which specializes in "strategic intelligence on global business, economic, security and geopolitical affairs," according to the company. Stratfor clients include the Defense Department, Lockheed Martin and Bank of America.

Thursday's message is the latest in a series of outings that target organizations the hacktivist groups oppose. The collective says this week's action is a response to the treatment of Bradley Manning, the 24-year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst charged with 22 counts for downloading thousands of confidential files that eventually made their way to the WikiLeaks website, a depository of leaked documents purporting government and corporate misconduct. The post also decried "corrupted politicians, establishmentarians and government agencies sex shops."

And, the note claims, this latest dump will be followed on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, with "Project Mayhem," demonstrations outside prisons to show solidarity with the incarcerated, as well as an attack on "multiple law enforcement targets from coast to coast." Project Mayhem, a name appropriated from the film Fight Club, refers to the movement's agenda in responding to systems of power and authority it believes corrupt and abusive. Police department websites have been targeted before by the group.

For its part, Stratfor CEO George Friedman took to the company's Facebook page earlier this week to apologize for the breach. The Stratfor site, offline since the initial breach was discovered on Dec. 24, was still down as of press time, Friday, 2:30 p.m. EST.

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