Hackers target US security think tank Stratfor

Hackers today claimed to have stolen a raft of e-mails and credit card data from US-based security think tank Stratfor, promising it was just the start of a weeklong Christmas-inspired assault on a long list of targets.

One alleged hacker said the goal was to use the credit data to steal a million dollars and give it away as Christmas donations.

Members of the loose-knit hacking movement known as "Anonymous" posted a link on Twitter to what they said was Stratfor's tightly-guarded, confidential client list. Among the list: The US Army, the US Air Force and the Miami Police Department.

The rest of the list, which Anonymous said was a small slice of its 200 gigabytes worth of plunder, included banks, law enforcement agencies, defense contractors and technology firms such as Apple and Microsoft.

"Not so private and secret anymore?" the group taunted in a message on the microblogging site.

Anonymous said it was able to get the credit details in part because Stratfor didn't bother encrypting them, an easy-to-avoid blunder which, if true, would be a major embarrassment for any security-related company.

Stratfor said in an email to members that it had suspended its servers and email after learning that its website had been hacked.