By Police1 Staff
Loosely organized hacker collectives such as Anonymous are increasingly setting their sights on police departments across the nation. Given the sensitive nature of the data often targeted in these attacks – names, addresses, and other personal information – officers can be put in physical danger as a result of such efforts. Take a look at these five incidents and tell us what steps your department has taken to prevent such an attack.
 | Man gets 18 months for hacking Mo. police union website Authorities say man’s actions were part of the “Operation Ferguson” effort supporting protesters of last year’s shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. |
 | Calif. police protests continue, websites hacked Anonymous, the “hacktivist” network that once eavesdropped on an FBI conference call on cyberpirates, became one of many groups supporting the protesters and knocked out several websites for the city of Oakland. |
 | Texas city under attack by hackers following OIS video release City’s computers, email network and emergency dispatch system were hit by hackers. |
 | ‘Anonymous’ hacker of police websites gets 3 years Man was arrested for attacks on police-agency websites in Utah, California, New York and Missouri in January and February of 2012. |
 | Hackers post W.Va. police officers’ personal info Hackers obtained the home addresses, home phone numbers and cellphone numbers of current and retired police. |