Anonymous Mexico Targets National Conference of Governors in Protest over Corruption

The Mexican branch of the Anonymous hacking collective has stolen details from e-mail accounts and taken down the website of the National Conference of the Governors (Conago) in protest against widespread corruption.

In a statement on Pastebin, the hacktivists claimed to have taken 14 gigabytes of data from Conago e-mail accounts.

The organisation describes itself as "a forum for institutions in Mexico, an inclusive space, open to all entities of the country, irrespective of political parties".

Anonymous Mexico recently targeted two websites dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Mexico and has accused the Vatican of using the trip to shore up the conservative National Action Party (PAN), one of the ruling parties in Mexico.

With its latest hack, the collective argues that Conago's existence is "purely political" and "is not established in any legal provision or regulation".

According to Anonymous, Conago is made up of "corrupt governors who are always in corruption scandals, fraud, and links with drug trafficking", which makes it is "a mockery of the Mexican people and spending more for our pock­ets".

Anonymous Mexico made headlines last year with OpCartel, a cyber-operation that targeted drug cartels in response to the alleged kidnapping of one of its members by a criminal group near Veracruz stadium, in Mexico City.

The operation, which initially aimed to take down the cartel, was later called off after the blogger was released and a victory was claimed over Los Zetas, one of the most violent cartels in Mexico.

The hacking group then shifted its focus from the cartel to the Mexican government, calling on the wider Anonymous community to attack government agencies within the country.