14 DAY TRIAL // The website of the English Defence League was hacked into and the details of members who donated money or bought merchandise from the group online were stolen.
The English Defence League (EDL) is a radical far-right group formed in 2009 with a stated goal to stop the spread of Islamism in England, particularly extremists and jihadists.
The organization claims that it has "thousands" of members of multiple ethnicity and religious belief. However, no more than 2,000 people have been seen at a single EDL demonstration.
Many of the group's protests result in clashes with Unite Against Fascism (UAF), an anti-fascist left-wing organization.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the online payment system used by EDL on its website was accessed illegally by unknown parties, which prompted the group's leaders to send a mass notification to members via email.
"As you may have become aware the English Defence League clothing site was recently attacked.
"This attack took two forms, firstly member’s names and addresses were stolen from the donation database (and) secondly the details of members purchasing items from the clothing site.
"The EDL would like to apologise for this security leak. The leadership is doing everything they can to understand how this occurred so it can never happen again," the email read.
There are fears the details might end up on the Internet, like the British National Party membership list did. Giving EDL's nature, if that were to happen, its supporters could be at risk of violent reprisals.
The group's leaders advise concerned members to contact the authorities if they fear for their own safety. The police has already launched a criminal investigation into the security breach.
EDL is not the first far-right group to be targeted in this way. In September 2008, Anti-Fascist Action (ANTIFA) members broke into a private forum used by the Blood & Honor neo-Nazi network and walked away with 800 MB-large database of member information and discussions, which was later released online.