4 Feb 2012

Activist web group publishes FBI call on hacking

8:33 pm on 4 February 2012

The hacking group Anonymous has released what it says is a recording of a conference call between the FBI and British police about cyber crime.

The conversation discusses the tracking of Anonymous and other splinter groups, dates of planned arrests and details of evidence held by police.

The 15 minute conference call has been released online with a claim from Anonymous that they recorded the conversation.

Anonymous is a loose collective of "hacktivists" which has been responsible for cyber attacks on various companies, governments and individuals in recent years.

The recording of the conference call - said to have taken place on 17 January - was posted on YouTube, along with an email allegedly sent by the FBI to law enforcement agencies in various countries giving details of how to dial in to it.

It was unclear how Anonymous obtained the recording, but a lawyer for one of the suspects discussed in it told the BBC it appeared to have been taken as an audiofile from an intercepted email, rather than having been eavesdropped on.

The FBI said the information had been obtained illegally.