The group behind the attack on The Sun’s website – LulzSec – is threatening to release a News International email archive which it claims to have extracted during the server assault.
The move follows the hack of News International’s systems which resulted in visitors to The Sun’s website being redirected to a hoax story reporting the death of boss Rupert Murdoch.
Sabu, a prominent member of LulzSec, said via Twitter that the group was sitting on emails of News International staffers. It also released email login details for former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, who according to the group used the password 63000 to access her email account at the paper – the same number as the text tip-off line used by The Sun.
The hackers also posted the mobile phone numbers of three News International executives.
The Telegraph reports that one of the phone numbers belongs to Pete Picton, a former online editor with The Sun who left to work on News Corp’s iPad-only publication, The Daily, last year. Another phone number belongs to Chris Hampartsoumian, an IT worker. Hampartsoumian recently announced, via Twitter, that he does not work for any News Corp firm.
A News International spokeswoman declined to comment when we asked if the organisation was taking the email hack claims seriously or whether it was taking any remedial action.
She said the firm was “aware” of the website redirection hack on The Sun, adding that all News International websites were now up and running as normal.
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