By BBC News
Hacking network Anonymous has released a recording of a conference call between the FBI and UK police in which they discuss efforts against hacking. The conversation covers the tracking of Anonymous and other splinter groups, dates of planned arrests and details of evidence held by police.
Anonymous also published an email, apparently from the FBI, giving the email addresses of call participants. The FBI confirmed the leak and said it was hunting those responsible.
It said the information “was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained,” the Associated Press news agency reports. British police at Scotland Yard said they were working on a statement.
According to the alleged email, the 17-minute phone call took place on 17 January. It was unclear how Anonymous had managed to obtain the recording.
The email was sent to law enforcement officials in the US, UK, Sweden, Ireland and other countries, inviting them to “discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other associated splinter groups”.
In the call, British and American voices said to be police and FBI agents discuss the names of some of the people they were tracking and plans for legal action.
Usernames are included but some of the real names of people being investigated appear to have been bleeped out.
Among those discussed are two British men, Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis, who are wanted in the US for their alleged connections to Anonymous.
One of the British voices on the recording also says UK police have made mistakes in previous investigations.
A comment on one of the Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous,AnonymousIRC, said: “The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now.”
Anonymous is a loose collective of hackers, anarchists and pranksters who have targeted a range of governments, companies, law enforcement agencies and individuals in recent years.