Anonymous' Operation KKK Data Dump Hoax; Politicians Deny Involvement, Hackers Verify Leak

It seems the first data dump to come out the highly-publicized Ku Klux Klan web breach perpetrated by hacktivist collective Anonymous was nothing more than a hoax. In the aftermath, politicians singled out by the prank took to social media to deny KKK involvement and defend their records while reps for Anonymous verified via Twitter that the first wave of data was fabricated, and not reflective of the hacked information.

The first indication that the recent revelations should be taken with a grain of salt was a tweet from Anonymous' Operation KKK account:

#ICYMI #OpKKK was in no way involved with today's release of information that incorrectly outed several politicians https://t.co/M1ltrb2P0B

— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) November 2, 2015

Amped Attacks, the account behind the release of a widely-reported list of political leaders allegedly uncovered in the hack, further distanced itself from Anonymous on Twitter.

i am not apart of anonymous nor have i ever claimed to be,i am my own man that acts on my own accord.i do however respect #OpKKK — Amped Attacks (@sgtbilko420) October 29, 2015

Gizmodo reports that Amped may not have actually fabricated the presence of politicians' email addresses on the KKK servers, but instead points to numerous victims that have been signed up for KKK accounts without their knowledge by malevolent forces.

"I'm not a member of the KKK," Excessive Discipline Protection Database President Patricia Aiken told the site. “This was done by a high-ranking employee at a jail to harass a union member.”

Aiken, whose name appeared in the dump, points the finger at Kirk Eady, a former deputy director at the Hudson County Correctional Institution. According to Aiken and another alleged victim, police union leader Daniel Murray, Eady was easily able to sign the two up on the KKK website without their knowledge.

While this makes it unlikely that Eady is behind the sum of the false data revealed by the hack, it confirms that enemies of those falsely accused of Klan membership could be behind the presence of unknowing victims' data on the KKK's servers.

Other more prominent names called out by the hack only further discredited the information. Openly-gay Lexington, KY mayor Jim Gray was one of the most ironic names to be included, as the Klan is not an LGBT ally, and has held a "Death to Homosexuals" demonstration in the past.

I am opposed to everything the KKK stands for. I have no idea where this information came from, but wherever it came from, it is wrong.

— Mayor Jim Gray (@JimGrayLexKY) November 2, 2015

Meanwhile, the Anonymous and Operation KKK Twitter accounts claim the data will not be released until Nov. 5. The day has a special significance to hacktivists, marking the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day in the UK. Fawkes, one of history's most famous political dissidents, is emblazoned on the masks proudly worn by members of Anonymous during public appearances.