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Thousands of Whistle Blowers Vulnerable After Anonymous Hacks SAPS

Posted by Unknown on from the hacktivism-gone-wrong dept.

First time accepted submitter fezzzz writes "Anonymous performed a data dump of hundreds of whistle blowers' private details in an attempt to show their unhappiness with the SAPS (South African Police Service) for the Marikana shooting. In so doing, the identities of nearly 16,000 South Africans who lodged a complaint with police on their website, provided tip-offs, or reported crimes are now publicly available." Reader krunster also submitted a slightly more in depth article on the breach.

8 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Seems counter-intuitive by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe someone else has a beef with some whistle blowers and wanted to expose some names.

    Now you always have Anonymous to blame...

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  2. are you kidding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    they're in it for the lulz you dumbass

  3. Re:Out of character... by TapeCutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    fit with Anonymous' general philosophy

    A bunch of teenagers wanking off to a Natalie Portman movie have time to form a "general philosophy"?

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  4. Anonymous didn't make it vulnerable... by SoTerrified · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...It was always vulnerable. People seem upset that 'Anonymous' has revealed the list of whistleblowers. What you have to realize is that the police had that information so poorly secured, anyone with any computer knowledge could easily access it. So the police were leaving a list of whistleblowers out there dangling in the wind for anyone who had any ability to look. All Anonymous has done is reveal what the police were doing... Poorly securing important information. Hopefully that message won't be lost as people try to pin the blame for poor security on the people who revealed it was poor. Don't blame the messenger. Blame the people who have sensitive information and don't put in the effort to secure it.

  5. Not this moronic justification again by Viol8 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just because someone leaves something vulnerable does NOT give anyone the right to exploit that vulnerability under some phoney guise of showing them how vulnerable it was in the first place. Thats the logic of the self justifying fool.

  6. Re:Out of character... by buchner.johannes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anonymous is as much a organisation as people waiting at a bus stop are. And guess what, criminals also take the bus.

    --
    NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
  7. Re:worst, summary, ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    RTFA the complaints of ANONYMOUS are about that. The whistle-blowers are trying to put a STOP to various instances of police brutality. So anonymous is protesting police brutality by posting the personal information of the VERY PEOPLE BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON IT.

  8. Re:Out of character... by LifesABeach · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did the group called Anonymous do this? I question this act.