Ottawa police, Supreme Court websites shut down after possible hack

A hacker group claimed responsibility after the websites of theOttawa police department and the Supreme Court of Canada flashed offline Saturday evening, one day after the same group allegedly shut down the City of Ottawas website.

The Ottawa Police Services website stopped responding around 6:30 p.m., with visitors attempting to reach the site greeted by a blank page with an error message. The Supreme Court of Canada's website shut downthe same way shortly after.

A Twitter account under the nameAerithclaimed responsibility for the website malfunctions.

"We'll start by taking OttawaPolice.ca offline, just to annoy them," it tweeted just after 6 p.m.

Ottawa police could not immediately confirmwhether itswebsite was hacked but told CBC News they are currently investigating.

"This is just the start," Aerithsaid in a message posted to an online forum. "We will not rest, we have already hacked Ottawa police's mail server, stolen all email logs incoming and outgoing."

CBC News could not immediately confirm who authored the message or its authenticity.

Aerith said Friday it hacked the City of Ottawa website. For about an hour, the site displayed the name of an Ottawa police officer involved in the investigation of an area teen who allegedly called in fake emergencies across North America, prompting police departments to deploy SWAT teams. The practice is often called swatting.

Const. Joel Demores name was shown alongside a dancing banana and themessage: JoelDemore: You laugh at us, you are scared of us, does this help your laughing?" the hacked website read. "We can destroy everything, this is a flex of our power. Please, test us.You know what we want."

The officer's email address was also published.

"You want to know our motive? Ask JoelDemoreof the Ottawa Police Services," read the group's online message Saturday.

The City of Ottawa,Ottawa police and Supreme Court websites were eachrestoredas of Sunday morning.