A hacker group claimed responsibility after the Ottawa police department’s website flashed offline Saturday evening, one day after the same group allegedly shut down the City of Ottawa’s website.
The Ottawa Police Service’s website stopped responding around 6:30 p.m., with visitors attempting to reach the site greeted by a blank page with an error message.
A Twitter account under the name Aerith claimed responsibility for the website malfunction.
"We'll start by taking OttawaPolice.ca offline, just to annoy them," it tweeted just after 6 p.m.
Ottawa police could not immediately confirm whether the website was hacked but told CBC News they are currently investigating.
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 Demore’s name was shown alongside a dancing banana and the message: “Joel Demore: 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.
The website was restored on Saturday afternoon, city officials said.