Oil Companies Spring a Leak, Courtesy of Anonymous

Posted by R.J. Jacob ⋅ July 17, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Five top multinational oil companies have been targeted by members of Anonymous, who published about 1,000 email addresses for accounts belonging to the firms, as well as hashed and unencrypted passwords.

The hacks, against Shell, Exxon, BP and two Russian firms — Gazprom and Rosneft, were conducted as digital protests against drilling in the Arctic, a practice that critics say has contributed to the melting of the ice caps there.

“To drill in the Arctic, oil companies have to drag icebergs out the way of their rigs and use giant hoses to melt floating ice with warm water. If we let them do this, a catastrophic oil spill is just a matter of time,” Greenpeace notes on its Save the Arctic web site.