A group linked to the Anonymous hackers group broke into the emails of Interior Minister Walter Alban and other high-ranking government officials, revealing documents that were classified as secret, according to daily La Republica.
The group, which goes by the name of LuIzSec Peru, revealed the government was following six anti-mining leaders in the northern region of Cajamarca.
The individuals, including Cajamarca Regional President Gregorio Santos, and former Catholic priest Marco Arana, led protests against the $5 billion Minas Conga copper and gold project. The project, owned by Newmont Mining and Compania de Minas Buenaventura, was suspended in 2012 after violent clashes between protesters and police.
The emails from the Interior Ministry also revealed that Comptroller General Fuad Khoury has had 16 police officers providing him with protection, when the standard security detail is only four officers.
LuIzSec Peru posted a link to a document on its Twitter account where it says that the reason it hacked into the Interior Ministry’s accounts was “to demonstrate the vulnerabilities of its system.”
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that it will seek charges against LuIzSec Peru.
