Hacker Group Anonymous Vows To Destroy Facebook On November 5

Hacktivist group Anonymous, which has been responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, News Corp, and others, has vowed to destroy Facebook on November 5th (which should ring a bell).
Citing privacy concerns and the difficulty involved in deleting a Facebook account, Anonymous hopes to "kill Facebook," the "medium of communication [we] all so dearly adore."
This isn't the first time Anonymous has spoken out against social networks.
After Google removed Anonymous' Gmail and Google+ accounts, Anonymous pledged to create its own social network, called AnonPlus.
The full text of the announcement, made on YouTube and reported by Village Voice, is below:

Operation Facebook

DATE: November 5, 2011.

TARGET: https://facebook.com

Press:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/OP_Facebook
http://piratepad.net/YCPcpwrl09
Irc.Anonops.Li #OpFaceBook
Message:

Attention citizens of the world,

We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.

Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria. 

Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your "privacy" settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you "delete" your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more "private" is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.htmlhttp://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iph.... 

You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.

The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It's unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don't understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of you. When a service is "free," it really means they're making money off of you and your information.

Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.

This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.

We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

http://www.businessinsider.com/anonymous-facebook-2011-8

Anonymous unsheathes new, potent attack weapon

Better DDoS attacks ahead

Members of Anonymous are developing a new attack tool as an alternative to the LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) DDoS utility.
The move follows a spate of arrests thought to be connected to use of the LOIC, which by default does nothing to hide a user's identity.

The new tool, dubbed RefRef, due to be released in September, uses a different approach to knocking out websites. LOIC floods a targeted site with TCP or UDP packets, a relatively unsophisticated yet effective approach, especially when thousands of users use the tool to join voluntary botnets.

RefRef, by contrast, is based on a more sophisticated application-level approach designed to tie up or crash the servers behind targeted websites instead of simply flooding them with junk traffic, according to a blog post on the development by an Anonymous-affiliated blog.
"Anonymous is developing a new DDoS tool," the post explains. "So far, what they have is something that is platform neutral, leveraging JavaScript and vulnerabilities within SQL to create a devastating impact on the targeted website."
RefRef, which uses a "target site's own processing power against itself" is undergoing field trials, with tests against Pastebin, the blog post by AnonOps Communications reports.
Arrests in UK, Spain and Turkey connected to LOIC-powered attacks have already prompted some core members of Anonymous to move towards using a new server and dropping LOIC in favour of other attack tools, such as Slow Loris and Keep-Dead DoS. This now seems to be purely a stop-gap measure while RefRef undergoes development.
LOIC was originally developed for network stress-testing, but later released into the public domain where, years later, it became a weapon of choice for hacktivists, most notably in the Operation Payback attacks against financial service organisations that blocked accounts controlled by Wikileaks last December following the controversial release of US diplomatic cables.
The problem with LOIC is that unless attacks are anonymised by routing them through networks, such as Tor, then users will be flinging junk packets that are stamped with their IP address at the targeted systems. These IP addresses can then be traced back to suspects by police.
Whether or not RefRef does a better job at anonymisation, by default, remains unclear but early experiments suggest that Anonymous is brewing a more potent attack tool. "Supposedly, the tool will DoS a targeted website with ease," Dancho Danchev, an independent cyber-threats analyst told El Reg. ®

Topiary 'known' to police says network giant

Frontline Lulzsec hacking member Topiary's identity and whereabouts were known to British police, chief technology officer of Prolexic Paul Sop has said.
While debate raged over whether British Police had arrested Topiary.
Scotland Yard released the name of a teenager, Jake Davis, it arrested in the Shetland Islands last week on suspicion of involvement with the LulzSec hacking group.
It has yet to emerge if the arrest man was the LulzSec identity Topiary, a concept contested by some online groups dedicated to uncovering the groups' participants.
Paul Sop, chief technology officer at Prolexic could not say if Topiary was in police hands, or talk specifically about the international police operation to locate and identify suspected online criminals within Anonymous and LulzSec because of non-disclosure agreements.
But he confirmed that police knew who and where Topiary was.
“Yes, I’ve read about the speculation. But you know I can’t say anything, right?” Sop said.
His company used its global IP network and technical specialists to defend businesses against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
In doing so, it had harvested countless IP addresses and other data from DDoS attacks launched against customers and supplied them to law enforcement.
“With that many eyes watching the long and protracted attacks [by LulzSec and Anonymous] it’s not really possible to stay anonymous," Sop said.
"Police efforts are slow and protracted – they have to be because evidence must be transferred and it cannot be compromised".
Sop predicted the hacking groups' continued attacks against government intelligence and police agencies and scores of businesses would be “just more damning for them”.
Prolexic was not the only private sector company to assist the police investigations into Lulzsec and Anonymous.
A sworn affidavit by an FBI agent had revealed PayPal supplied the IP addresses of 1000 participants in DDoS attacks launched against its network in December.
Many of the DDoS participants had used the LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) software which made it easy for non-technical users to participate in coordinated attacks against nominated targets.
But in doing so, their IP addresses were recorded on the logs of victims, or with specialists like Prolexic.
A report  last year by researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands compared the use of LOIC for DDoS attacks to "overwhelming someone with letters, but putting your address at the back of the envelope".
The IP addresses were all there, in logs,” Sop said. “It’s rather daft – like throwing a brick through a window with your address taped to it," he said.
The philosophical ideology that united much of the Anonymous and Anti Security movement had helped investigators build profiles, Sop said.
Yet for all the attacks against Prolexic customers, Sop was warm to the movements’ broad ambitions to fight censorship and corruption.
“I don’t disagree with the messages, but the methods affect hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Look at the attacks on Sony – that affected thousands of people who just wanted to play PlayStation. When it was down, I couldn’t enjoy gaming with my son.”

http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/265445,topiary-known-to-police-says-network-giant.aspx

Identifying the hacktivists of the emerging cyberwar

The hacktivist landscape has become increasingly cluttered, and while the anonymity they cling to makes clearly labeling each player difficult, the rising division between these groups is beginning to give them distinct identities.

The Internet has never been a safe place, and since its inception, and introduction to consumers, privacy and security have been a major concern. Of course, now that the average person’s computer skills are many times over what they used to be, that only amplifies the problem. Couple this with the fact that millions and millions of people are uploading mass amounts of personal and sensitive data and you’ve got a recipe for some serious cyber-insecurity. The advent of hackers with a conscience has exacerbated the situation while also putting a new twist on Web ethics.
Anonymous and LulzSec have become household names, and their Internet antics have captured the attention of just about everyone, including the CIA. But as identities and opponents merge, the cyberwar landscape has become confusing. Consider this an introductory course to the who’s who of hackers.

Anonymous

Anonymous first largely appeared on many radars after making worldwide headlines for its attack on the Church of Scientology in what they called Project Chanology. But more recently the group became a household name shortly after the WikiLeaks Cablegate debacle.
When various websites refused to host WikiLeak’s site, and credit card companies wouldn’t offer a way for people to make donations to the group, the hacktivists took it upon themselves to fight WikiLeak’s enemies. Anonymous used a series of DDoS to take down MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and drew the ire of international law authorities.
So where did Anonymous come from? The group organized via popular forum 4chan and past victims include the Church of Scientology, Internet predator Chris Forcand, and censorship proponents worldwide. Many of its actions have been motivated by the groups’ personal morals, which largely focus on freedom of information. Much of its recent work has centered on the Middle East rebellions, and the group has publicly announced its fight against Iran and Egypt. Other notable targets were HB Gary, Sony PlayStation (although Anonymous claimed innocence for the PSN collapse), and Bank of America.
The group’s various press releases and announcements are typically well written and almost business-like, as have been its denials. It has often had to defend itself against many groups claiming to be hacked by Anonymous. There have been rumors of inner turmoil that has led to different factions with separate agendas and personalities. At the moment, AnonNews is down due to DDoS attacks.

LulzSec

If Anonymous is the student body president of hackers, LulzSec is the class clown. The group hasn’t been on the public scene very long, first gaining notoriety about a month ago when attacked Fox.com in retaliation for calling the rapper Common “vile.” But LulzSec’s first breakthrough performance came when it hacked PBS and posted a fake report that Tupac Shakur was alive. The group claimed that this was in response to negative attention directed toward WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning. LulzSec also claimed responsibility for some of Sony’s hacked web properties. Over the last month, LulzSec has also hit the FBI, Nintendo, and the CIA websites.
Despite some of its very serious and established opponents, LulzSec has time and time again affirmed it’s “in it for the lulz.” The group has also been extremely communicative with the public via its Twitter feed and even a phone request line, where it will take suggestions for hacks. The group has more of a prankster air to it then serious freedom defender, although its beliefs seem to align with Anonymous’. LulzSec has taking to mocking its victims more openly and in a more lighthearted tone than Anonymous has, though, giving it an entirely different reputation than its more serious counterpart.

Anonymous vs. LulzSec?

There were rumors that Anonymous and LulzSec were opponents. After a series of DDoS attacks that slowed down various online games because of malicious traffic, some frustrated 4chan users decided to begin their own DDoS retaliation against LulzSec. The group then used its massively popular Twitter account to attack 4chan, which Anonymous took as a personal affront. By later that day, however, both had denied such a rivalry, and the two have since united for Operation Anti-Security to expose faulty handling of user data.

Web Ninjas vs. Anonymous and LulzSec

It’s a good thing Anonymous and LulzSec teamed up when they did, because Web Ninjas has its eye on them. It’s rumored Web Ninjas is the home of Th3J35t3r, who took down WikiLeaks shortly after it posted its stash of confidential diplomatic cables in fall 2010. Whether or not he’s a part of the coalition, the group insists it’s working for a “safer and peaceful Internet for everyone, not some bunch of kids threatening [the] Web and trying to own it for LULZ or in the name of publicity or financial gain or anti-government agenda.” The group released a large amount of information about the alleged identities of LulzSec hackers, including their whereabouts. LulzSec has denied the seriousness and truth behind these revelations, but an associate of the group was arrested today. LulzSec downplayed the amount of his involvement in the group, saying he is largely inconsequential to their operations. LulzSec also released the information of someone they believe attempted to out them.

Idahc

Residing (purportedly) outside this interwoven ring of hackers is Idahc. The Lebanese hacker is reportedly an 18-year-old computer science student and runs a one-man operation seemingly focused on Sony and Sony alone. He personally has moral issues with Sony, particularly for its treatment of George “GeoHot” Hotz and has said “If you want ethics, go cry to Anonymous. True lulz fans, stay tuned in.” He is thought to be behind many if not all of the hacks to various Sony Web properties. Idahc calls himself a grey hat focused on exposing the insecurity of Sony user accounts.

Despite their claims of independence and purported ethical intentions, the very nature of the groups inspires distrust. And it’s difficult to admit that with the apprehension toward supporting what are legally cyber-criminals, comes some sort of interest mixed with understanding: Whether or not you agree with all of their ploys, combating oppressive regimes and censorship while also exposing the careless liberties large corporations is difficult to oppose. Of course if you’re one of the many who’s had their email and password plastered all over PasteBin recently, you might feel otherwise.

In Case You Missed It:

• LulzSec hacked by TeaMp0isoN
• Anonymous takes down PlayStation website; UPDATE: Anon explains attack on Sony
• LulzSec hacks Sonypictures.com, user data compromised
• Operation Wisconsin: Anonymous targets billionaire Koch brothers

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/identifying-the-hacktivists-of-the-emerging-cyberwar/

Soca website taken down after LulzSec 'DDoS attack'

The UK Serious Organised Crime agency has taken its website offline after it appeared to be a victim of an attack by hacking group Lulz Security.

Soca said it had taken its website offline to limit the impact attack on clients hosted by its service provider.
Soca.gov.uk had been unavailable for much of Monday afternoon, with an intermittent service restored later.
Lulz Security has said it was behind the denial of service attack which had taken the website offline.
Earlier on Monday, as the agency launched an investigation, LulzSec tweeted: "Tango down - in the name of #AntiSec".
The group has hit a number of high-profile websites in recent weeks, including the CIA and US Senate.
Soca appeared to be the victim of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, where large numbers of computers, under malicious control, overload their target with web requests.
In a statement given to BBC News, a Soca spokesman said: "Soca has chosen to take its website offline to limit the impact of DDoS attack on other clients hosted by our service provider.
"The Soca website is a source of information for the general public which is hosted by an external provider. It is not linked to our operational material or the data we hold."

Embarrassment

Earlier on Monday, a LulzSec Twitter posting seemed to confirm the nature of the attack.
"DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes," it said.
The latest attack will come as an embarrassment for Soca, which is tasked with investigating cybercrime.
"It is not going to please the boys in blue one bit," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos.

Mr Cluley added that it was wrong to confuse DDoS with the kind of hacking that can lead to confidential information being stolen.
However, he warned that LulzSec was capable of both types of attack.
"They have in the past broken into websites and stolen e-mail addresses and passwords, so there is a lot of harm can be done."



Big Lulz
When Lulz Security first appeared in May, the group portrayed itself as a light-hearted organisation, bent on creating online fun and Lulz (laughs).
Soon after, details of its hacking exploits began to emerge.
The first involved stealing and publishing a database of US X-Factor contestants, including their e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
It followed up with a mixture of website denial of service attacks and intrusions where data was taken and made available on the internet.
On June 19, LulzSec declared that it would begin targeting government systems, calling the campaign Antisec.
"Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including e-mail spools and documentation. Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments," said a post on the group's website.
The reason for LulzSec's greater focus on government is unclear, although it appears to have recently ended a feud with the more politically-motivated group Anonymous.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13848510

After Sony PSN hack, ‘civil war’ fractures hacker group Anonymous

A "splinter group" has reportedly taken control of two websites that host hacker group Anonymous' primary communications channels in an attempt to decentralize the group.

Anonymous, the hacktivist group whose members were recently accused of conducting a massive breach of Sony’s PlayStation Network, appears to be coming apart at the seams following a “coup d’etat” takeover of the group’s primary communications network.
According to website Thinq_, a “splinter group” has seized control of two websites used by Anonymous to organize their various distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against their corporate and geopolitical enemies. Those site are AnonOps.net and AnonOps.ru, both of which host the Internet relay chat (IRC) channels used by Anonymous members.
A member of the AnonOps network staff, who goes by the name “Ryan,” tells Thinq_ that he and a number of other disaffected Anonymous members seized control of the sites because they believed the group had become too centralized. They also accuse some members of “behind-the-scenes string-pulling” that allowed these Anons to assume leadership positions in the previously headless organization.
Before now, it has been widely stated that Anonymous has no central leadership, a tactic used to limit the ability of law enforcement (or anyone else, for that matter) from discovering Anonymous members’ real identities, or infiltrating their operations. This, says Ryan, is “bullshit.”  In fact, he says, there are ten users that make all the decisions during a DDoS campaign, which is done in a single IRC channel.
“There is a hierarchy. All the power, all the DDoS – it’s in that channel,” he says.
To further make his point, Ryan leaked the IP addresses of more than 650 AnonOps users to the Internet — a move he says was “regrettable but necessary” to prove that their system for organizing attacks was insecure, and promote the idea that Anonymous must decentralize to survive.
The Anonymous members that Ryan says act as puppet masters for the group firmly refute his claims, and insists that it is Ryan, not they, who has gone off the deep end.
“[Ryan] accuses us of trying to control Anonymous from behind the scenes,” one Anon told Thinq_. “In fact, the channel he refers to was for chat moderation and he himself was part of it.”
The group says that Ryan — who is allegedly behind the controversial transformation of Encyclopedia Dramatica into ‘Oh Internet’ — is threatening to use an 800,000-computer-strong botnet (a group of computers taken over by hackers) to attack AnonOps, if they are able to take back the site from the splinter group. They also called Ryan “dangerous,” prone to “outbursts,” and “arrogant and narcissistic.”
“We all knew Ryan was dangerous,” said one Anon. “Just how dangerous nobody was quite sure. He has always had little outbursts. We knew one day there would be a massive one, but we were never sure when.”

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/after-sony-psn-hack-civil-war-fractures-hacker-group-anonymous/

Anonymous Declares War on Sony

In Sony’s effort to pursue George “GeoHot” Hotz and other Playstation hackers to the ends of the earth (literally), they’ve poked the sleeping giant of Anonymous, the 4chan based hivemind who under the guise of “freedom of information” has now officially declared war on Sony, and has launched attacks ranging from bringing down their websites (and possibly the PSN) to publishing personal information of the executives.
The “press release” by Anonymous says things like “You have abused the judicial system in an attempt to censor information about how your product works” and more tellingly, “You saw a hornet’s nest, and you stuck your penises in it.”
But even though it may seem childish on the surface, Anonymous is not a group to be trifled with. They’ve taken on corporations before, most recently places like Bank of America, Paypal and a whole host of companies that decided to act against kindred spirit Wikileaks in various ways.
Yesterday, they took down Sony and Playstaion.com, and the Playstation Network was non-functional most of the day. There’s no official confirmation that despite claims of “routine maintenance,” this was actually because of Anonymous, but it seems like an awfully big coincidence if not. By taking down the service, Anonymous would presumably be trying to draw customer’s ire toward the company, as most wouldn’t know who was responsible for the outage.
But today there’s a new battlefront, as Anonymous has turned to start finding and publishing personal information about Sony executives. When the info is located, advice on the forums suggest to crank call them on Skype, place Craigslist erotic personals in their name and send their friends and loved ones “STD postcards” announcing a newly acquired disease. No one ever said they were mature, as often being straight up malicious overshadows the primary directive of the group. Nothing is sacred, and dueling with Anonymous is like trying to have a fistfight where your opponent kicks you in the groin, throws sand in your face and stabs you with a razor blade.

As of now, Sony.com and Playstation.com are online, and the PSN is back up almost everywhere. I agree that Sony isn’t handling this hacking disaster particularly well, but it’s hard to condone Anonymous’s tactics either.

http://blogs.forbes.com/insertcoin/2011/04/05/anonymous-declares-war-on-sony/

ANCYL Website Hacked

The website of South Africa’s ANC Youth League (ANCYL) was hacked last Wednesday afternoon, in what some believe is the start of a much larger cyber-war in the country.
Computer news website membrum.com reports the hackers gained administrative access to the site. A fake press release by ANCYL leader Julius Malema announcing his resignation from the political organization because he “had made a fool of [him]self,” among other “essential” reasons, was posted on the front page.
“The hacker then went on to expose the site’s directory structure, systematically deleting core config files (see screenshot below) before — we suspect — a backup was implemented,” membrum reports.
The attack happened hours before Malema was set to give a radio interview on Metro Drive FM. The website of the popular news-talk station was also defaced at the same time.

Screenshot of the hacked ANYCL website.

Although the website was repaired a few hours later, it was still experiencing errors over the next several days.
An examination of the source code of the attack shows someone named “Warbird” was responsible, although it is not known who exactly did it.
Hacktivist group Anonymous posted a video calling on the people of South Africa to overthrow their government on March 18.
Online marketing specialist Rafiq Philips told TimesLIVE, “There are some basic security measures you have to take care of when you build a website, obviously the youth league website was lacking.”
ANCYL spokeswoman Magdelene Moonsamy gave an Orwellian spin on the hacking to IOL News when she said,
“There is nothing that we are aware of at this point and there is nothing on our website.
“We do not have time for things like this.”
ANCYL spokesman, Floyd Shivambo, slammed down the phone on Times LIVE when they contacted him for comment about the hacking.

http://www.therightperspective.org/2011/04/03/ancyl-website-hacked/

Anonymous' Operation Empire State Rebellion Releases "Civil Disobedience" Video #2

Two weeks ago the Anonymous hacker collective released a video indicating it was moving to a peaceful form of civil disobedience, until such time as the Fed is abolished, to be preceded by the "sign of good faith" that is Bernanke's stepping down. Needless to say, so far Bernanke has not quit. So today Anonymous' OpESR has released a second video which unlike the previous one is more or less a collage of hacker-friendly video clips. Hopefully there is some more to this latest form of anonymous activism than the clever use of iMovie...

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/anonymous-operation-empire-state-rebellion-releases-civil-disobedience-video-2

Anonymous targets American Israel PAC: Operation Palestine

OpPalestine
Sunday those claiming to represent the Internet hacktivist group known as "Anonymous" launched a cyber attack against The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The attack is aimed at the website, aipac.org, and conducted via a modified LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) used to execute DDoS attacks. A distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users.
According to the announcement from Anonymous:

America's Pro-Israel Lobby (AIPAC) is known for being one of the most powerful lobbies, keeping politicians in their pockets. During 2009, the U.S. provided Israel with at least 8.2 million per day in military aid and $0 in military aid to the Palestinians.
We are having none of it.

The notice goes on to give "attack instructions" on the installation and utilization of the LOIC (low orbit ion cannon).
Currently Anonymous is experiencing something of a renaissance, with numerous operations running as well as a robust recruitment drive in full swing. Using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook as well as Internet Relay Chat rooms (IRC) the group has conducted successful campaigns against such targets as Scientology, Visa and MasterCard, the Westboro Baptist church and the Internet security firm HBGary.

Nevertheless, it is important to recall that Anonymous is a mysterious organization - a headless monster, lacking any identifying hierarchy or command structure. No one press release, no one statement, no one tweet, no one blog post, speaks for all who pledge allegiance to the group. While there apparently are leaders and followers involved in particular operations, there is no leadership in the traditional sense.

At the time of posting, the AIPAC website was still up and running. The announcement and other information is available via Twitter search: #OpPalestine, as well as a Facebook page "Operation Palestine."

http://www.examiner.com/anonymous-in-national/anonymous-targets-american-israel-pac-operation-palestine

Internal Affairs website goes down

Days before hackers were set to attack it, the Internal Affairs website is down.
A spokesman for the department said it had not yet established what had happened but was investigating.
Restoring services was the priority, he said.
A video on the internet by hacker collective Anonymous detailed its opposition to Internal Affairs implementing internet filtering this month.
''Internet censorship as seen in China, India, Australia, the United States as well as the United Kingdom has become one of the greatest atrocities to free speech and government transparency since the cold war,'' the group said.
''It is for this that we the people, must and will step forward to dismantle the Government's control over the internet.''
The group promised a series of attacks to start next Monday, but the site was already down today.
''The attacks will continue until The Department of Internal Affairs vetoes their own decision and releases the free flow of information to New Zealand.''
The message concludes: ''You cannot find us. You cannot stop us. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.''
A message on the Internal Affairs website said it was temporarily unavailable and apologised for the inconvenience.
Technology writers Kris Notaro and Wes Strong have written about Anonymous saying it began as a movement in 2003 on a series of internet chat boards and has gone from targeting small time hypocrites to large multinational corporations bringing it from the background of hacker culture to the forefront of global politics.
It gained notoriety in 2010 after shutting down Mastercard, Visa, and Paypal during what it called Operation Payback.
Those major corporations stopped providing their services to Wikileaks, which had been using them to accept donations into the Wikileaks defence fund.
Last year's Parliament InTheHouse link was taken over by Turkish hacker Iskorpitx.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/4804937/Internal-Affairs-website-goes-down

Anonymous sends a message to ‘the South African people’

Anonymous, the shadowy online ‘hacktivist’ group that is rapidly gaining worldwide fame uploaded a video to YouTube on the 18th of March entitled “Message from Anonymous: To the South African people”, calling on the people to rise up and take back their country from corrupt and inept rulers.
The message, which had been viewed 800 times at the time of writing, begins with some grainy footage of wind sweeping over Table Mountain, evoking the famous Winds of Change speech by Harold Macmillan which foreshadowed the end of the colonial era. The video then cuts to a head shot of a smiling mask and a female computerized voice begins with the words “to the people of South Africa, Anonymous would like to address you on the state of your society”.
The message goes on to detail how the people have been robbed of the wealth of the country, and how companies like Anglo American and the Oppenheimer family have gotten rich at the expense of the masses. This is followed by a list of South Africa’s social problems, from drugs and murder to domestic violence and organised gangs “while the police are rendered impotent by the very laws that govern South Africa”.
How long will we allow this to go on, asks the voice of Anonymous, before exhorting the people to “stand up and show the world that enough is enough”. The final part of the message is a warning to the government that the people will stand it no longer, and drives home the message “expect us”.
The tone of the message shifts from speaking in the third person in the first half of the message, to something more inclusive at the end. “We the people are taking our country back”, “Enough of selling our resources to the West” says the voice, and the switch to first person plural indicates that the message originates in South Africa from a homegrown branch of Anonymous.
It’s been a watershed few months for Anonymous. From highly-publicised attacks against the enemies of WikiLeaks to strategic DDOS attacks on Middle Eastern dictatorships and a strategic humiliation of online security firm HBGary, the “hacktivist” group has gone from strength to strength. Just last week, it declared that it would be taking on the might of the ‘global banking cartel‘ in what would be its most ambitious target to date.
This particular message from Anonymous to South Africa is short on details, and offers no solution to the multitude of problems which, to be frank, even the government themselves are aware of. There are no targets, timelines or direct threats which are all hallmarks of Anonymous modus operandi thus far.
The message does seem to be closely associated with a Facebook group called “Taking Back South Africa! 2011“, a community organisation with 300 followers that seems to be advocating a radical overthrow of the political system in South Africa. It even carries the group’s logo at the end.
When approached by Memeburn about its plans for the future, the organisation wrote “Our plan is first of all to create more awareness of this movement and increase online numbers which will allow us to get more material across. We plan to create more videos and written material which we will release online. Our strategy is to focus on 3 core fundamental problems which all South Africans suffer from and can agree on: Poverty, Crime and Government Corruption.”
One of the things which the video does do is point to the fact that, in a leaderless movement such as this, anyone can step forward and claim to speak on behalf of the collective. Is this message really from Anonymous, or is it simply the work of some South African activists who are seeking to shake up the South African political scene with some bold pronouncements? We’ll be watching to see if this develops any further.

Hacker group Anonymous declares war on ‘global banking cartel’

The faceless, decentralised on-line community known as “Anonymous” posted a video on YouTube on Monday declaring war against the international banking system in a movement it is calling “Operation Empire State Rebellion”.
In the video, Anonymous explains how this movement would involve a “relentless campaign of nonviolent, peaceful civil disobedience” until its demands are met. These demands begin with the resignation of Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, but ultimately it seeks to “break up the global banking cartel centered at the Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund, Bank of International Settlements and World Bank”.

This is the most ambitious goal yet to be set by Anonymous in what is turning out to be a watershed year for online activism. From highly-publicised attacks against the enemies of WikiLeaks to strategic DDOS attacks on Middle Eastern dictatorships and a strategic humiliation of online security firm HBGary, the “hacktivist” group has gone from strength to strength.

Clearly, it’s showing tremendous strength and confidence in taking on the might of the international financial system, and the group must believe that it has the weight of public opinion behind it. Anonymous has also been actively recruiting members through its Tumblr blog, and Twitter hashtag #OpNewBlood.
The move against giant financial institutions has already begun, according to the New American, which reported that “earlier this week, Anonymous released a series of e-mails allegedly showing that Bank of America was regularly engaging in fraud and criminal activity”.
The ties between Anonymous and WikiLeaks are not clear, but both organisations claim to have information that will do tremendous damage to some major global financial institutions.
It seems obvious that the Federal Reserve will not bow to Anonymous’ demands, and neither will the online group back down. We can expect some fireworks in the near future.

http://memeburn.com/2011/03/hacker-group-anonymous-declares-war-on-global-banking-cartel/

Anonymous resumes Operation Payback with attack on BREIN

Anonymous, while continuing their actions to support protestors in North Africa, the Middle East, and Wisconsin, has resumed their most infamous operation to date - Operation Payback. On Thursday, the mass protest started with a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack on the Dutch anti-Piracy organization BREIN.

The attack on BREIN (anti-piracy.nl) started just after 12:00 a.m. on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time. In a matter of minutes, 10 people using the LOIC software Anonymous is known for, were able to take the organization’s website offline.
From that point, it remained offline, only appearing intermittently around 04:00 EST. At the time this article goes to press, the domain is offline.
BREIN is the Dutch acronym for Protection Rights Entertainment Industry Netherlands. It’s also the Dutch word for brain. They have been linked to Hollywood anti-piracy efforts, and were selected by Anonymous for recent actions against a large Warez domain that impacted a legit business in the crossfire.
While targeting a Warez (illegal software) Topsite, BREIN seized several servers from hosting provider WorldStream. Among the equipment seized were servers owned by a legit ISP with no connection to the illegal software domain. According to reports, the ISP owner lost $138,000 USD worth of equipment in the BREIN raid.
TorrentFreak has more information here, including allegations of BREIN installing backdoors on the seized servers and hijacking the ISP owner’s GMail accounts.
In addition to the Warez raid that snared a legit business, Anonymous is also targeting BREIN for Operation Payback’s resurrection because of their involvement with the takedown of 11 Usenet related domains.
While the Usenet domains also included access to illegal software, BREIN’s actions resulted in cutting Usenet connections to legitimate groups, removing their right to communicate in the process. In all, the Usenet raids by BREIN impacted nearly a million people.
Right now, Anonymous is using the DDoS attack on BREIN to build momentum. They plan to stick with smaller targets until support grows. Once that happens, then the sky is the limit for them when it comes to selecting a new target for cyber protest.

“Since early 2011, Anonymous has busied itself with very successful operations which it can be very much proud of. Not only has Anonymous proven that it is a force to be reckoned with, it has grown in strength and diversity, and it continues to gain numbers and attract attention from all over the world,” a statement from Anonymous reads.
“Operation Payback has now begun its "researching" phase, due to some actions taken by some copyright organisations, including "BREIN", who have censored popular sites on the internet over the past couple of weeks. This censorship can't be taken lightly, it is time to avert some attention to them and enable them to [realize] that this kind of censorship will not be tolerated, Anonymous style.”
Operation Payback started as a campaign by Anonymous against the anti-piracy efforts of groups such as the RIAA, MPAA, ACS Law, AiPlex, and AFACT. In addition, the operation has also taken on, and taken out, MasterCard, Visa, the Swiss bank Post Finance, PayPal, and others.
Update:
Five minutes after this story was published, Anonymous started targeting ifpi.org.
From their domain: "IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide, with a membership comprising some 1400 record companies in 66 countries and affiliated industry associations in 45 countries."

http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201109/6896/Anonymous-resumes-Operation-Payback-with-attack-on-BREIN

Westboro Baptists Stage Fake Anonymous Threat

The controversial Westboro Baptist Church isn't exactly a beloved organization. However, when it claimed that ethereal hacking group Anonymous had threatened to take the WBC down, it was apparently just a bold-faced lie to garner publicity.
Anonymous is known for taking on targets big and small that range from the U.S. government to Gene Simmons. One common thread through Anonymous' attacks is that they all seem to go along with the group's ideals of open government or freedom of speech.
The WBC has some pretty insane views, in my humble opinion, the least terrible of which calls Batman and Superman false idols. At the worst, the WBC praises terrorism for, well, some crazy reason probably not even worth discussing. The organization claims it received an open letter from Anonymous that said: "We will target your public websites, and the propaganda and detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover."
Anonymous put out a press release denying it had written the letter, believing it to be a trap to "harvest IPs to sue." The press release reads: "When Anonymous says we support free speech, we mean it. We count Beatrice Hall among our Anonymous forebears: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'"
While it might be nice to see Anonymous take on the WBC, it unfortunately just doesn't make sense. It'd be like taking down the website of the crazy guy that yells at you when you walk down the street, on a slightly larger scale.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107893-Westboro-Baptists-Stage-Fake-Anonymous-Threat

The Leaked Plan to Attack WikiLeaks and its Supporters

Anonymous could launch Stuxnet attack on Iran

Anonymous, the leaderless 'hacktivist' collective that recently launched DDoS attacks in support of WikiLeaks, claims to have got hold of the Stuxnet worm - and could use it to launch further attacks on targets including Iran's nuclear programme.


Israeli and US secret services are alleged to have created Stuxnet in order to launch the sophisticated cyber attack on Iran.
Anonymous claims it has obtained details of the worm from the emails of security researchers HBGary, after the collective attacked the company's website earlier this month in revenge for the US firm's help for the FBI in identifying alleged members of Anonymous.
As yet, Anonymous has not announced its intention to use the malicious code - but the 'online living consciousness' has signalled its disapproval of the Tehran regime in an open letter to the Iranian people, stating:
"People of Iran, you will not be denied your right to free speech and free press; your right to freedom of assembly, uncensored information and unlimited access to the Internet; your right to a life without oppression and fear."
The group plans to launch attacks in support of the country's pro-democracy 'green movement'.
But security experts have raised doubts over Anonymous's ability to exploit the worm in order to carry out attacks on Iran - in particular with regard to high-profile targets such as the Bushehr nuclear reactor complex, the target of the original attacks last year.

Russian experts working on the reactor recently warned the Kremlin that damage caused by the earlier Stuxnet attack could cause 'another Chernobyl' if Iranian nuclear chiefs press ahead with their existing timetable for bringing the site on-stream.
"It would be possible [for Anonymous to use Stuxnet in an attack]," Orla Cox of security analysts Symantec told the UK's Guardian newspaper. "But it would require a lot of work, it's certainly not trivial.
"The impressive thing about Stuxnet is the knowledge its creators had about their target. So even if you have got access to it you need to understand the target - that requires a lot of research."

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/2/14/anonymous-may-launch-stuxnet-attack-iran/

Anonymous releases 71,800 HBGary e-mails through new site

Try to take on Anonymous or WikiLeaks, and they'll get you back: The hacktivist site is single-handedly destroying HBGary's reputation for threatening its members and planning to sabotage WikiLeaks.

Any companies out there considering taking down Anonymous in return for the various DDoS attacks the group staged earlier this year might want to think twice. The hacktivist group recently infiltrated security firm HBGary Federal’s network and accumulated various confidential material and internal e-mails. The firm’s CEO Aaron Barr allegedly had plans to rat out Anonymous members to the FBI, and as revenge he can now find his and various other HBGary employees’ e-mails publicly posted (HBGary is HBGary Federal’s sister company). In addition to outing Anonymous members, HBGary was one of the handful firms orchestrating an image attack to destroy WikiLeaks’ reputation. WikiLeaks is reportedly preparing to release confidential documents belonging to Bank of America, and according to Forbes, HBGary would work for the company by “spreading misinformation, launching cyberattacks against [WikiLeaks], and pressuring journalists.”
Anonymous is now hosting a site (and there are a variety of mirrors as well) giving anyone access to 71,800 e-mails from the inboxes of HBGary executives Greg Hogland, Aaron Barr, Ted Vera, and Phil Wallisch. Subject matter ranges from a PowerPoint presentation detailing intentions to plant false stories about WikiLeaks to embarrassing love letters between company execs.
This is more than humiliating for HBGary – it’s financially ruining the company. Security firms Berico Technologies and Palantir Technologies have cut ties with HBGary. The released documents tied both firms to the operations defending Bank of American by sabotaging WikiLeaks, and now they’re wiping their hands of the situation. Aside from any business relationships Anonymous’ latest hack and release damaged for HBGary, the fact that a security firm was infiltrated by the group in the first place speaks volumes.
WikiLeaks holds powerful information, and it seems like security firms will stop at nothing to retain it – or at least threaten the group and its supporters to the point of keeping their mouths shut. But it appears that Anonymous has more in its arsenal than unsophisticated DDoS attacks, and the group is ready to use them.

 http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/anonymous-releases-71800-hbgary-e-mails-through-new-site/

Operation Iran

The hacking collective Anonymous is planning to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Iranian government websites tomorrow (Feb. 11).
Anonymous "Operation Iran" is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. local time and is an online protest of what the group called in a press release "chains of oppression, tyranny and torture." The DDoS attacks coincide with a day of physical demonstrations set to occur in Iran tomorrow, ostensibly to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the revolution but which last year were usurped by anti-government protesters.

A YouTube video created by the group shows violent scenes of revolt and government oppression, while a digitally-modified voice details Anonymous 'mission:
"To the noble people of Iran: We know how great you are. You have been killed, jailed, tortured and silenced by the illegal regime which has hijacked your country for the past 32 years, and yet you still rose up last year against a force that you knew meant ill harm. They may kill one person every eight hours but they can't kill your fighting spirit, they can't kill your freedom. Know that we support you. Know that you are not alone. We are Anonymous, we are legion. We do not forgive, we do not forget. Expect us."


In an Anonymous chat room on MiBBiT.com today (Feb. 10), a participant using the screen name "arash" expressed the public sentiment in Iran that is behind the need for a government upheaval similar to the ones occurring in Tunisia and Egypt. (Anonymous hackers launched DDoS attacks on government websites in both countries last month).
"They are the most uncivilized regime in the world, worst [sic] than north korea [sic] and all the Iranians hate them," arash wrote.
This batch of DDoS attacks comes at what could be considered a precarious time for Anonymous. Today (Feb. 10), a federal grand jury in San Jose, Calif., began collecting evidence -including computers and mobile phones - seized in multistate raids on suspected members of Anonymous.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20031428-501465.html

FBI Investigating NASDAQ DDOS Attacks

An investigation is now underway by Federal agents over numerous network intrusions that run the Nasdaq Stock exchange, according to cnet.
Although the hackers did not affect the exchange’s trading platforms, it is not quite clear at this time what other parts of the network were accessed.
The FBI recently launched an investigation and announced they are considering a range of motives for the intrusions, including a threat to national security, financial gain, and theft of trade secrets.
Reports say that those familiar with the investigation are saying that surfaced evidence points to Russia as the intruder’s location. However, investigators warn that the hackers may be using the country as a channel for their actions.
This is not the first time the Nasdaq has been targeted by hackers. In 1999, the group called “United Loan Gunmen” accessed the site and posted a headline entitled “United Loan Gunmen take control of Nasdaq stock market.” The headline was quickly erased and Nasdaq officials said that the trading platforms were never breached.

http://www.thehostingnews.com/fbi-investigating-nasdaq-ddos-attacks-16245.html