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Anonymous ‘hacktivists’ promise ‘war for data’
Operation Payback attacks firms that have blacklisted WikiLeaks in fight for internet freedom
Members of internet protest group Anonymous have declared a "war for data" and vowed to continue their attacks on businesses they believe are trying to undermine WikiLeaks.
The group, which has no official leaders or membership structure, has launched 'botnet' attacks on companies including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal this week after they withdrew services to the controversial website, whose founder Julian Assange is now under arrest in England.
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, one Anonymous member, who calls himself Coldblood, said: "I see this is becoming a war, but not your conventional war, a war for data. We are trying to keep the internet open for everyone."
The botnet attacks, in which computers act together to bombard and overwhelm the site they are targeting, have been undertaken under the name Operation Payback. Thousands of so-called 'hacktivists' are believed to have signed up to take part in the operation.
In an online 'manifesto' Anonymous described itself as "an Online Living Consciousness".
It said: "The atoms it is comprised of have never been the exact same in number, consistency or form. In this regard, Anonymous is similar to a river."
Its previous targets have included the Church of Scientology and the Australian government, after it announced plans to censor the internet in 2009. It claims that the causes and targets it chooses are decided by "the will of the Hivemind".
Of the organisation's latest campaign it says: "Operation Payback is the codename for the joint effort of Anonymous to fight against those who seek to misuse the internet... [It] is now directed towards those who employ unfair means to fight WikiLeaks."
However, Anonymous has itself fallen foul of other websites and in recent days the organisation's Twitter page has been taken down and Facebook pages in support of Operation Payback were also taken down. The BBC reported the Twitter site was suspended because links to files containing consumer credit card information were being posted. ·
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Personally, I would encourage Anonymous to not over shadow the Wikileaks affair. The reason I say this is Visa has come under a perfectly legal attack from their business associates, namely the retailers. Some are complaining about a three percent charge on purchases made by the high end cards making it a good idea to share this knowledge as apposed to distracting the people who think, mistakenly, that Wikileaks is doing something wrong. Information is power. Do not give the hard of thinking any reason to look down their noses at people like us who think information should be shared and not just a tool for the rich and powerful.
It is time for everyone to show their cards because the game is getting boring. Julian Assange is weird with the women, the USA has a â??me firstâ?? attitude, with possible criminal conspiracy tendencies and or they have more to hide and Great Britain is not as great as it has been in the past. Hopefully the Royals are ignorant.
Showing your cards as you fold gives others a safer pedestal to stand on; and easier game to play. Have we come clean Julian? Why are those girls annoyed with you? You may be feeling bad because of a disagreement about what is weird. Why do we not hear from the girls? And my favorite question, what might be leaked in the future about all of the government, police, politicians and powerful people involved in this mess. Should we have complete accountability now and enforce that accountability with a threat to remove their heads?
The answer: the data is already out there. Too late to fold with your cards face down.
Brian Elwin Pomeroy