Anonymous hacks multiple US agencies, steals secrets: Report

Activist hackers linked to Anonymous have accessed US government computers, broken into multiple agencies, and stolen state secrets, according to an exclusive report by Reuters.

The hacker campaign began December last year when hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, allowing them to leave "back doors" in computers, according to a FBI memo cited by the news wire agency.

The memo reportedly said this was "a widespread problem that should be addressed," adding that the US Army, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, and possibly other agencies had been compromised. The hacking campaign may still be ongoing.

According to Reuters, officials think the case is linked to the prosecution Lauri Love, a UK citizen arrested for his alleged part in the Anonymous suspected hack of various US agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Army. Love and possibly others had allegedly found a security flaw in Adobe's ColdFusion software.

Another UK citizen, computer programer Jeremy Hammond, an alleged member member of Anonymous, received a 10-year prison sentence after he plead guilty to to hacking the American intelligence company Stratfor in 2011, Agence France-Presse reported.

Love faces a similar prison term of 10 years if convicted, though it's still unclear if he will be tried in the US or the UK. Loves lawyer Karen Todner has fought her client's extradition to the US.

"The UK has a justice system that is admired through out the world, and it is up to our system to try him, not the American system," Todner told the BBC.