Two Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous have claimed responsibility for a denial of service attack on the Interpol website, which is currently out of commission. The international law enforcement agency arrested 25 suspected hackers in more than a dozen cities across Europe and Latin America today. Interpol’s “Operation Unmask” followed what it called “a series of coordinated cyber-attacks originating from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain.”
The @anonopshispano account called for the attack at 1:54 p.m. Pacific time. The worldwide news account @AnonOps first tweeted “TANGO DOWN” at 2:43 p.m. Pacific time. It published a second message five minutes later, proclaiming that “#Anonymous is not a criminal organization.”
Interpol’s statement on Operation Unmask cites attacks on Colombian government websites, Chile’s national library and a Chliean electric company, among other targets. Police from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain carried out the arrests, seizing 250 computers and mobile phones, as well as credit cards and cash. Suspects ranged in age from 17 to 40.
At press time, the Interpol site is struggling to recover, but it is no longer completely down.