SLC police downplay danger of hacking attack

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Salt Lake City police Detective Josh Ashdown is downplaying any danger to residents after hackers gained access to the department's website that gathers citizen complaints.

The Salt Lake City Police Department was among a handful of law enforcement agencies worldwide targeted in online attacks attributed to the collective known as Anonymous.

The hackers claim to have targeted the Salt Lake City site in opposition to an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill that eventually failed in the state Senate. The bill would have made it illegal to possess any instrument, tool or device with the intent of vandalizing an area with graffiti.

Ashdown says investigators believe the group is bluffing about the extent of the information it got from the website, and he noted authorities don't think any of the details will be widely distributed.

He said police don't have any reason to believe that citizens who reported crimes on the website are going to be targeted specifically.

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