UPDATED: Feb. 6, 2:34 a.m. EST

Hackers associated with the group Anonymous hacked the Syracuse Police Department’s public information website as well as police websites in Salt Lake City and Texas, Syracuse police said.

Though the website, syracusepolice.org, was hacked, the attackers were unable to access confidential information, said Syracuse police spokesman Sgt. Tom Connellan.

‘This is our public website. It’s completely stand-alone and has nothing to do with internal information,’ Connellan said. ‘No police reports or sensitive information can be accessed through the website.’

The hackers cited SPD’s knowledge of the Bernie Fine case, along with the case of Brian Hutchings, a former Auburn police officer and convicted felon who is suing the city of Auburn for back pay and pension, according to an article published Thursday in The Post-Standard. The Hutchings case is not associated with the SPD.

The exact reasons for the hacking, Connellan said, are still under investigation.

Department names and apparent passwords were available Wednesday on websites where hackers often post parts of code, according to the article.

Connellan said the police department is unsure of how long the website will be shut down at this point.

‘We want to make sure it is absolutely secure before we put it back up,’ he said.

In Salt Lake City, the hackers said they attacked the police website in protest of an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill in the state senate. Shawn Josephson, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department, said the site was not connected to any confidential documents, but that police employees were encouraged to change their passwords as a precaution, according to the article.

In Texas, hackers attacked police agencies mainly in the Fort Worth area, according to the article.

meltagou@syr.edu 

Published on February 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Marwa: meltagou@syr.edu | @marwaeltagouri