A hacker group called AntiSec is bringing its exploits – said to be in defense of arrested members of the hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec – to the forefront even when officials would have liked to bury them, it appears.

AntiSec recently claimed responsibility for the July 31 hacking if a number of law enforcement departments in the southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Missouri. The group was able to access e-mails, passwords, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit-card details belonging to police personnel in the affected departments, reported NewsFactorNetwork. Over the weekend, AntiSec said it is releasing a 10GB cache of information from police computers.

The group said its actions were in response to recent arrests in both the U.S. and Europe of alleged hackers from the high-profile groups Anonymous and LulzSec, particularly that of 18-year-old Jack Davis, who was arrested in London and is accused of being the suspected LulzSec spokesperson called Topiary.

“We stand in support of all those who struggle against the injustices of the state and capitalism using whatever tactics are most effective – even if that means breaking their laws in order to expose their corruption,” AntiSec said in a statement. “The attacks against the governments, militaries and corporations of the world will continue to escalate.”

Rather oddly, several local law-enforcement officials initially said their Web sites had not been hacked on July 31, according to NewsFactor.com. In response, AntiSec then released details about the information it had accessed from its cache of stolen law-enforcement content.

“We taunted the sheriffs by responding to their denials by tweeting teasers exposing their SSNs, passwords, addresses and private e-mails,” said AntiSec in a statement. “We want them to experience just a taste of the kind of misery and suffering they inflict upon us on an everyday basis.”

AntiSec said its goal is to embarrass law enforcement departments.

“We are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to embarrass, discredit and incriminate police officers across the U.S.,” said the group said in a message.

Davis was released from jail when he posted bail on August 1. He is required to wear an electronic monitor and is prohibited from accessing the Internet via any device.

His last tweet read, “You can't arrest an idea.” 

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