A massive attack on police was carried out online as hackers released “hundreds of thousands” of highly sensitive private records on officers from over 200 American police departments.
The hacking was carried out by the radical group DDoSecrets, which published “hundreds of gigabytes’ worth of potentially sensitive files” from police departments from all over the nation in an information dump that they have dubbed ‘BlueLeaks,'” according to Business Insider.
The hackers compiled the files into a database that allows users to search for private information using a police badge number. Private information of law enforcement officers is available in the database, as well as various department memos and emails. “RELEASE: #BlueLeaks (269 GB) Ten years of data from over 200 police departments, fusion centers and other law enforcement training and support resources,” the group tweeted. “Among the hundreds of thousands of documents are police and FBI reports, bulletins, guides and more.”
Business Insider added that much of the information that has been compiled by the hackers pertains to “how law enforcement agencies have been sharing information about COVID-19, George Floyd protesters, and even tweets critical of the police.”
Emma Best, co-founder of DDoSecrets, bragged on Monday that this hack is the largest of it’s kind that has ever taken place. “It’s the largest published hack of American law enforcement agencies,” Best boasted. “It provides the closest inside look at the state, local, and federal agencies tasked with protecting the public, including [the] government response to COVID and the BLM protests.”
Standing by the hack, she said that it showcases the “underlying attitudes of law enforcement,” which trickles down to their policing. “The underlying attitudes of law enforcement is one of the things I think BlueLeaks documents really well,” Best explained. “I’ve seen a few comments about it being unlikely to uncover gross police misconduct, but I think those somewhat miss the point, or at least equate police misconduct solely with illegal behavior. Part of what a lot of the current protests are about is what police do and have done legally.”
Anti-police sentiments have been at an all-time high in the United States in recent weeks, and this shows once again the level of danger that American police officers are now in. They need our support and prayers now more than ever.
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