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Montreal police confirm no sensitive information was leaked in apparent cyberattack

MONTREAL — The Montreal police are investigating an alleged computer hack that leaked pages of information on the SPVM, including names, pictures and phone numbers of officers.

It also contained photos supposedly identifying undercover officers.

The information was compiled by “hacktivist” group, Anonymous, and shared on Facebook and Twitter late Tuesday night.

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On Wednesday police confirmed that no sensitive information was released and the list is already in the public domain. “It’s information you can gather yourself, it’s not a secret, it’s not even illegal,” Constable Ian Lafreniere said. But he did say that the way the information was distributed could be a violation of the Canadian Criminal Code.

“We consider it as an intimidation because they had a clear intention to put pressure on police officers.”

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Lafreniere also noted that many of the photos were not of actual officers but members of the public. The safety of these individuals could be endangered after being incorrectly categorized as undercover cops.

This is the third cyber attack on the Montreal police in less than a year.

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