Turkish hackers, WikiLeaks disclose security documents

ANKARA / LONDON – Hürriyet Daily News

A successful hacking attempt by a left-wing Turkish group of the Ankara Police Department’s computer network and WikiLeaks’ recent publishing of emails it “acquired” from U.S.-based intel company Stratfor have led to questions about the future of online security.

The Turkish “RedHack” yesterday began to release documents it managed to obtain from the Ankara Police Department’s computer network and servers, just as WikiLeaks began publishing some of the millions of email messages it drew from Stratfor’s servers in apparent collaboration with the Anonymous collective.

The first document published by RedHack on its website, http://www.kizilhack.org, was “Confidential Police Documents: Informants – Denouncers,” which included numerous notices sent to the police about alleged slurs against the prime minister, other government figures and religious communities, as well as warning notices about left-wing groups and Kurdish politicians that urged the police to take action against them.

RedHack said it was going to publish the leaked documents in parts, according to reports.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks also announced on its website it would publish over 5 million email correspondences between Stratfor operatives and their clients and information sources under the title

“The Global Intelligence Files.” The dates of the messages range from July 2004 to late December 2011.

WikiLeaks did not deny it paired with the Anonymous collective to hack into Stratfor servers and download millions of email messages. Anonymous had said last December they had hacked into Stratfor, acquiring electronic messages and credit card information belonging to thousands of customers who subscribe to the intelligence-gathering company, whose clients include large corporations such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Anonymous announced its collaboration with WikiLeaks via Twitter yesterday with a link to an article titled “WikiLeaks Pairs with Anonymous to Publish Stratfor’s Dirty Laundry.”

Texas-based Stratfor, formally known as “Strategic Forecast,” describes itself as a subscription-based publisher of geopolitical analysis with an intelligence-based approach to gathering information.

Meanwhile, hackers allied to the loose-knit Anonymous movement claimed responsibility for vandalizing websites of an Ohio FBI partner and an international prison contractor.

The website of Dayton, Ohio-based chapter of Infragard – a public-private partnership for critical infrastructure protection sponsored by the FBI – was taken down by hackers and replaced with the video for rap hit “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

Anonymous has promised weekly hacks as the amorphous group continues its campaign against law enforcement worldwide.