Hacker group Anonymous said it had successfully hacked into? the servers of? five oil and? gas companies operating in? the Arctic, including Gazprom and? Rosneft,? posting hundreds of? company email addresses and? passwords online.
In a statement posted on the website Pastebin.com, the? group said it had acted in? support of? environmental organization Greenpeace and? that organization's drive to? cease oil and? gas drilling on? the Arctic shelf. The group emphasized that it did not work in concert with Greenpeace, but only in its support.
The apparent author of the statement, who identified himself only as Twitter user @le4ky, said arctic drilling leads to? the melting of? polar ice caps and? increases the? risk of? oil pollution in? ocean waters. He said accidental spills are more likely than at? a conventional offshore production site because of? the climate and? the risk of? icebergs hitting a rig.
The? companies affected by? the hack included Shell, BP Global, ExxonMobil, Gazprom and? Rosneft, according to the statement. The? hackers released the? information of? 190 accounts from? Gazprom and? 80 from? Rosneft, and? database access details were also made available. The? hackers said the? information wasn't accessed through a? software vulnerability but rather through a? mistake by? the webmaster.
Anonymous said that "Phase I" of? its project last month used hacked accounts to? sign a? petition to? save the? Arctic. The? group released 300 email addresses and? passwords from? Exxon on? June 26, some of? which it said were subsequently used in? so-called phishing attacks — meaning the defrauding of an online account holder's financial information — prompting the group to? release less information this time.