"Anonymous" Hackers to Target California Government Agencies?

Government violations of civil liberties in California may soon have a new opponent. According to a pair of stories in this morning's news, the Bay Area Rapid Transit authority and the Fullerton police department may soon be attacked by the international cyber-hacking group known as "Anonymous", which has claimed responsibility for attacks on the Tunisian and Egyptian governments during the protests that fed their collapses.

First up, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that BART's cell-service shutdown last week, meant to curtail a protest over the July 3 death of Charles Blair Hill, has drawn Anonymous' ire. In calling for a peaceful protest on Monday evening, and encouraging protesters to carry video cameras to record the behavior of BART police, Anonymous threatened to "show those engaging in the censorship what it feels like to be silenced" by attacking the transit agency's computers.

Second, down in Orange County, Anonymous also announced "Operation Fullerton" through an open letter to the Fullerton Police Department. Apparently, this effort will involve attacking the department's computer systems in retaliation for the beating death of Kelly Thomas at the hands of FPD officers. The department reports no problems thus far, but it is carefully monitoring the situation.