Syracuse, NY -- Hackers affiliated with the group "Anonymous" hacked the police website in Syracuse and in Salt Lake City and Texas, according to Syracuse police.



The Syracuse public information website was hacked, but that did not include police reports or other sensitive information, said Sgt. Tom Connellan.

The website, www.syracusepolice.org, will likely be shut down for a few days, Connellan said.

Syracuse police department names and apparent passwords were posted Wednesday to sites where hackers often post snippets of code.



The hackers cited the Syracuse police department's knowledge of the Bernie Fine case, as well as the case of former Auburn police officer Brian Hutchings, a convicted felon who is suing the city of Auburn for back pay and pension. The Hutchings case is not related to the Syracuse Police Department in any way.

Connellan stressed the hacked website was maintained by a third-party web host and was not linked to departmental records.



In Salt Lake City, hackers who broke into the police department website compromised more information that originally thought, police said Wednesday.

Hackers said they attacked the police website because to protest an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill in the state senate, authorities said. Salt Lake City police spokesman Shawn Josephson initially said the site was not linked to information in police reports or other confidential documents, but all employees working at the police station were urged to change their passwords as a precaution.



"We have learned that citizen complaints regarding drug crimes in the community were also accessed. These forms included phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, other personal information, and details about suspicious activity from a variety of sources," a news release stated.



The hackers also attacked Texas police agencies, especially in the Fort Worth area.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.