Group says it hacked U.S. law enforcement websites

LONDON -- The group known as Anonymous says it has hacked some 70 law enforcement websites across the southern and central United States in retaliation for the arrests of its sympathizers in the U.S. and Britain.

The hacking group also claims to have stolen 10 gigabytes of data, including emails, credit card details, and other information from local law enforcement bodies.

Anonymous' claims couldn't all be immediately verified, but a review of the sites it claims to have targeted -- mainly sheriffs' offices in states such as Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi -- showed that most were unavailable or had been wiped clean of content.

Law enforcement sources confirm that FBI is investigating the apparent cyber attack on law enforcement sites. The FBI is not commenting beyond that, reports CBS News justice and Homeland Security correspondent Bob Orr.

"The actors who make up the hacker group "Anonymous" and several likely related offshoots like 'LulzSec', continue to harass public and private sector entities with rudimentary exploits and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) commonly associated with less skilled hackers referred to as 'Script Kiddies'" read a Homeland Security bulletin CBS News obtained.

So far, Anonymous has not demonstrated any capability to inflict damage to critical infrastructure, instead choosing to harass and embarrass its targets, according to the bulletin.

Half a dozen calls to various sheriff's offices across the country went unanswered or weren't returned early Saturday.