US think tank warns of further hacking

WASHINGTON

U.S. intelligence analysis firm Stratfor has warned its members whose email accounts and credit card information were hacked that they could be targeted a second time for speaking out on behalf of the company.

Stratfor said on its Facebook page that some individuals who offered public support for the company after it revealed it was hacked “may be being targeted for doing so.” The loose-knit hacking movement “Anonymous” claimed Dec. 25 through Twitter that it had stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to the company’s clients. “So, in order to protect yourselves, we recommend taking security precautions when speaking out on Facebook or abstaining from it altogether,” it said on its Facebook page, which it has used to communicate since its website was compromised.

Hackers provided a link on Twitter to what they said was Stratfor’s private client list, which included the U.S. Defense Department, Army, Air Force, top security contractors and technology firms like Apple and Microsoft. Stratfor, based in Texas, said its affected clients and its supporters “are at risk of having sensitive information repeatedly published on other websites.”

The hackers initially claimed their goal was to use stolen the credit information to donate to charities at Christmas, and some victims confirmed unauthorized transactions were made from their credit accounts. Anonymous became famous for attacking the firms and institutions that oppose WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.