Yes, seriously! Check it out before they find out what went terribly wrong.

Westboro Baptist’s Facebook Hacked By Anonymous is a post from: The Inquisitr

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, the internet has been hopeful Anonymous would step up to the plate and again retaliate against real-life trolling organization the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that predictably and immediately announced an intention to harass the grieving residents of Boston with their universally unwelcome presence — but did Anonymous also hack the Westboro Baptist Church Facebook page?

Few American entities are as despised as the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that has made a name for itself by visiting and protesting the funerals of murdered children, soldiers, victims of attacks and others who died in notable and unusually sad circumstances — and when it was revealed they’d thanked God for the carnage in Boston and planned to visit with their messages of hate, Anonymous was implored to intervene. Late last night, it was reported that Anonymous had commandeered and defaced the WBC’s Facebook page.

Like the uncontrollable anti-heroes the internet has come to believe them to be, Anonymous addressed the Westboro Baptist Church issue with haste. The response echoed the one seen in December, when the group harassed and threatened the grieving families of Newtown, Connecticut and sparked fury by indicating an intent to picket the funerals of the slain Sandy Hook students.

But as for hacking the Westboro Baptist Church Facebook page? Not exactly. According to Mother Jones, initial reports that the WBC Facebook had been taken over by Anonymous to spread messages of love (and trolling) in the wake of the WBC threats to picket Boston were not precisely accurate.

What actually appears to have happened is that Anons have created a parody page, on which they counteract the Westboro Baptist Church’s terrible messages with counter pics of Martin Luther King, Jr. and some memes, and the spoof page managed to impress upon some Twitter users that a successful Facebook hack had been carried off — when that was never the intent.

MoJo explains:

“Earlier today, people on Twitter reported that Anonymous members had apparently hacked WBC’s Facebook account, rewriting bio information and plastering its wall with an assortment of meme-heavy images. Well, it turns out that they, and I, were a little too excited at the possibility. It looks like Anonymous members have been engaged in the brandjacking (read: squatting) of the (bogus) Westboro Baptist Church page for the past four months.”

Either way, internet citizens can take comfort in the fact that however they are doing it, some Anonymous factions are trolling the pants off the evil Westboro Baptist Church, an action we believe everyone can get behind.

Anonymous Hacks Westboro Baptist Church Facebook Page? Not Exactly is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hactivist collective Anonymous threatened Westboro Baptist Church on Monday over the fringe hate group’s decision to protest the funerals of the Boston Marathon explosion victims.

The two groups have duked it out in the past, most recently when the Topeka, Kansas-based church threatened to picket the funerals of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims in December.

In response to Sandy Hook, Anonymous mobilized thousands of people to form a counter protest. While Westboro Baptist Church members did make their way to Newtown, Connecticut, they never appeared at any funerals.

Along with forming counter protests, Anonymous also hacked into Westboro’s sensitive information and Twitter accounts. They posted all of the group’s personal information online and took over Twitter accounts in a show of support for the Newtown victims.

This round between Anonymous and Westboro Baptist Church started before emergency responders even left the scene at Boston’s bloodstained Copley Square. The oft-deemed hate group immediately blamed Massachusetts for the bombing, saying their gay marriage laws called condemnation on them from God.

In an almost expected move, the group followed up their initial response by tweeting:

“BREAKING: Westboro Baptist Church to picket funerals of those dead by Boston Bombs! GOD SENT THE BOMBS IN FURY OVER F-G MARRIAGE! #PraiseGod.”

The announcement was met with resistance by Anonymous, as well as citizens around the country. The immediate response from Boston residents appeared to be along the lines of, “Try it.” One of the hacktivist collective’s accounts, @YourAnonNews, responded by saying:

Dear @wbcsays, I wouldn’t fuck with the people of Boston when they’re mad.#BostonBeatDown

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 16, 2013

If #WBC protests the Boston funerals, they will have to expect us.

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 15, 2013

But it appeared that the Westboro Baptist Church wasn’t intimidated by Anonymous. The group responded by saying:

“@youranonnews: Dear @wbcsays, I wouldn’t f- w/ Boston #BostonBeatDown“Keep up, YAN!#GodSentTheBomber#TruthNeeded twitter.com/WBCsigns/statu…

— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSays) April 16, 2013

Do you think Westboro Baptist Church will show up in Boston?

[Image via JCWilmore]

Anonymous Threatens Westboro Baptist Church Over Boston Bombing Funeral Protests is a post from: The Inquisitr

Anonymous says they know who Rehtaeh Parsons’ rapists are, providing a little extra “incentive” for Canadian authorities to re-open the case themselves.

Rehtaeh took her own life last week at the age of 17 after being gang raped in 2011 and relentlessly bullied by her classmates and peers ever since.

A photo of the rape was reportedly circulated throughout her school and community, and she was constantly bombarded by texts from boys asking her to sleep with them and others from girls calling her a “slut” and a “whore.”

Police initially closed the case, saying that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the alleged perpetrators rapists from the 2011 incident. After Rehtaeh committed suicide last week, it seemed like the tragic end to a pretty horrifying tale.

This week, the Internet hactivist collective known as Anonymous picked up the story, and decided to pursue their own investigation. According to a statement released by @YourAnonNews, one of the largest news handles for Anonymous, the group was able to confirm the identities of the rapists in roughly two hours.

Scary and unpredictable hackers though they are, they didn’t delve into anyone’s Facebook or email accounts to figure out who the rapists are. People close to the individuals in the case flooded Anonymous accounts with testimony.

Anonymous deduced that the primary rapist in the case shouldn’t be all that hard to catch, since he bragged about the crime and took a picture of himself doing it.

You can read the statement from Anonymous here (or watch the video below), but here are some of their best reasons the case should be re-opened (and can be solved):

• Witness testimony – If nothing else, it seems that dozens of teens and adults heard the rapists at least brag about taking part in the Rehtaeh Parsons gang rape.
• EXIF data – since a photo of Rehtaeh’s rape was reportedly circulated among hundreds of students, Anonymous wonders if authorities even bothered to check.
• The school did nothing – they said they didn’t know, but if child pornography is going viral in your hallways, shouldn’t you know?

For now, Anonymous has elected to withhold the names of Rehtaeh Parsons’ alleged rapists in order to allow an official investigation to be re-opened. “What we want is justice. And that’s your job. So do it,” they say.

What do you think should happen in the Rehtaeh Parsons case? You can watch a statement from Anonymous below, and, if you’re not much for the Internet hactivism route, you can sign a petition seeking an independent inquiry into the case (where someone competent from outside shows up and solves it) right here.

Rehtaeh Parsons Case Solved By Anonymous In Two Hours is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide has caused a massive outpouring of grief as well as a call for justice on social media including an apparent appeal to the Internet hactivist group known as Anonymous.

Parsons is remembered as a beautiful and happy-go-lucky girl whose life was devastated by a gang rape and eventual bullying from her peers. It ended in tragedy when Parsons hanged herself in a bathroom last Thursday. She struggled for three days in a hospital before her family finally decided to take the 17-year-old Canadian girl off life support.

The 2011 incident scarred Parsons, as a photo from the gang rape was distributed throughout her school and community. What followed was relentless bullying from her peers. Boys harassed her with requests for sex while girls barraged her with texts calling her a “slut” and a “whore.”

Outside of her community, Parsons’ story has attracted international attention and deep sympathy from millions. Thus far, no one has been charged in the 2011 gang rape incident, but the alleged names of the boys involved in the attack have been distributed online.

We’ll include some of the tweets regarding the story below, but we caution the supposed identities of Parsons’ attackers have not yet been confirmed. Be aware the names you see in various links or posts may not actually belong to the attackers.

The online crusade for justice in the Parsons case also includes an apparent appeal to the Internet hactivist group known as Anonymous. Many Twitter users are posting with the hashtag #opjustice4rehtaeh. When Anonymous undertakes an online “justice campaign,” they frequently use hashtags that begin #op[insert cause or subject here].

Anonymous has been made aware of the call, and posted the following to their @YourAnonNews account:

Anons working on the #OpJustice4Rehtaeh will be publishing a press release through Your Anon News shortly.

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 10, 2013

Here are some of the tweets calling for justice in the Rehtaeh Parsons case. We’ll let you know what Anonymous says when they release a statement, or potentially, information regarding her attackers.

Looks like things are about to get real for a few little rapists in Cole Harbour pastebin.com/mwW6HLdv #OpJustice4Rehtaeh

— Stephen Gillis (@Stephen_Gillis) April 10, 2013

The entire #OpJustice4Rehtaeh case and details unfolding today is devastating and dizzying. I feel so sad. For her, for our system & culture

— Alanna Swartz (@alannaswartz) April 10, 2013

BLOG: What all boys should be told about Rehtaeh Parsons by @terri_to huff.to/14XYORM via @huffpostcaliv #OpJustice4Rehtaeh

— Wayne Leng (@Renegade98) April 10, 2013

Here’s the link to the Facebook event for the vigil for Rehtaeh Parsons Thursday at 7 in Halifax ow.ly/jWDsa #opjustice4rehtaeh

— Fat Apollo (@realfatapollo) April 10, 2013

@youranonnews. Either they have taken the phone off the hook or lot of people are calling.. keep it up.#OpJustice4Rehtaeh

— Global Human Rights(@Jeannie_Hartley) April 10, 2013

Rapists should be ostracized and be held accountable, no matter the age. Come on, Nova Scotia. DO YOUR JOB #OpJustice4Rehtaeh

— Anne Martin (@ladybuxom) April 10, 2013

Rehtaeh Parsons Suicide Sparks Social Outcry, Appeal To Anonymous is a post from: The Inquisitr

North Korea was hacked by Anonymous again as part of their #OpFreeKorea, or Operation Free Korea, campaign.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, North Korea was hacked with its Flickr accounts, with Anonymous posting humorous pictures of Kim Jong-Un as a pig. Recently, the announcement of increasing the North Korea nuclear weapons stockpile coincided with news of the North Korea nuclear reactor being restarted in Yongbyon, which would allow the Kim Jong-Un regime to continue making plutonium.

Previously, the Anonymous hacker group claims to have hacked North Korea, getting their hands on more than 15,000 passwords belonging to users of Uriminzokkiri.com, one of North Korea’s primary sites on the Internet. They released six sample user records and boldly demanded that Kim Jong-Un resign and install free democracy in North Korea.

This time Anonymous hacked the North Korea twitter account, which normally posts articles and bellicose rhetoric from the Kim Jong-Un regime in Pyongyang. North Korea opened its Twitter account in 2010. It has more than 13,000 followers.

North Korea being hacked is proven by various new tweets that declare “hacked” or “Tango down,” which is also the focus of new image uploaded to the North Korea Flickr account. “Tango Down” is military slang for an enemy being taken out, so Anonymous is merely saying they have interrupted services, not that they’ve caused permanent harm to North Korea.

Anonymous previously released this statement after North Korea was hacked:

“We got all over 15k membership records of Uriminzokkiri.com and many more. First we gonna wipe your data, then we gonna wipe your badass dictatorship’ government.”

North Korea has apparently responded to the hacking by taking down their accounts. Both the Flickr and Twitter accounts for Uriminzokkiri seem wiped clean.

What do you think about North Korea being hacked by Anonymous?

North Korea Hacked By Anonymous, Uriminzokkiri Twitter Account Taken Over is a post from: The Inquisitr

Anonymous has hacked the North Korea Twitter and Flickr accounts as part of the #OpFreeKorea, or Operation Free Korea, campaign.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, tensions have only been rising as North Korea factories were blocked to South Korean workers.

Previously, the Anonymous hacker group claims to have hacked North Korea, getting their hands on more than 15,000 passwords belonging to users of Uriminzokkiri.com, one of North Korea’s primary sites on the Internet. They released six sample user records and boldly demanded that Kim Jong-Un resign and installs free democracy in North Korea.

The newest phase in Anonymous’ plans for Operation Free Korea began with transforming Kim Jong-Un into a pig. They created a $1 million wanted sign graphic that calls Kim Jong-Un “Nuke Nuke Mickey Lover” and lists his crimes as “Threatening world peace with ICBMs and nuclear weapons, wasting money while his people starve to death, [and] concentration camps and the worst human rights violations in the world.” Further, Anonymous claims “the United Nations officially sanctioned North Korea through the ICC due to its severe violation of human rights, including concentration camps and torture.”

Anonymous hacking North Korea in this manner is supposed just the beginning. Anonymous says, ”We got all over 15k membership records of Uriminzokkiri.com and many more. First we gonna wipe your data, then we gonna wipe your badass dictatorship’ government.” Anonymous desires to hack the North Korea intranet (as in, internal network) but experts question whether that’s even possible since the North Korea intranet is not even connected to the world at large through the internet. As such, these hacks by Anonymous are symbolic at best because most North Koreans do not have access to the internet and will never see these images.

What do you think about Anonymous hacking North Korea Twitter and Flickr accounts?

Hacked uriminzokkiri.com, uriminzokkiri.com/itv, ryugyongclip.com

— uriminzokkiri (@uriminzok) April 4, 2013

Anonymous Hacks North Korea, Turns Kim Jong-Un Into A Pig is a post from: The Inquisitr

The hacker collective Anonymous has managed to successfully hack into the Chinese-hosted North Korean news site Uriminzokkiri.com. The group walked away with 15,000 user records including user names, e-mail addresses, birth dates, and hashed passwords.

After announcing the hack, Anonymous displayed the personal information for six users, three from Korea and three from China. One of the users displayed is a worker for the Korea Electric Power Company.

The anonymous hackers responsible for the DPRK attack are protesting the North Korean regime and the US government. The hackers following the attack wrote: ”North Korean government is increasingly becoming a threat to peace and freedom. Don’t misunderstand us: As well we disagree with the USA government too – these guys are crooks, USA is a threat to world peace too, and direct democracy (or any kind of democracy) doesn’t exist there. The American government is a target and enemy of Anonymous as well!” The activist claim that the attack has nothing to do with “country vs country.”

After vandalizing the hacked website, the hackers left a list of demands. They asked that Kim Jong-un be ousted from his position of power, that a free democracy be instituted in North Korea, and that the country’s citizens be given uncensored internet access.

The anonymous hacker also warned Kim Jong-un that he has gained access to the countries mail servers, web servers, and “local intranets.”

The unnamed hacker has not provided any evidence that backs up his claim of full North Korean technology intrusion.

Proving that North Korea has no security control over its networks, the attack was announced in advanced but was still 100 percent successful. The group behind the attacks have already announced new plans for April 19 and June 25.

It took North Korean and Chinese web experts 48 hours to return the hacked web property.

Anonymous Hacks North Korean Website, Steals 15,000 User Profiles is a post from: The Inquisitr

In North Korea 15,000 passwords were stolen by Anonymous hackers as part of the #OpFreeKorea campaign.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, North Korea declared a state of war against South Korea last week. North Korea’s official statement also promised nuclear war against the United States. Today, the announcement of increasing the North Korea nuclear weapons stockpile coincided with news of the North Korea nuclear reactor being restarted in Yongbyon, which would allow the Kim Jong-Un regime to continue making plutonium.

F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets were sent to South Korea as part of ongoing military exercises with South Korea that occur every year. These F-22 stealth fighters in Korea would join the B-52 bombers and B-2 stealth bombers that were already sent to South Korea. The USS Fitzgerald, a destroyer capable of intercepting missiles, was also originally thought to be deployed up the coast line of North Korea, but it turns out the radar-equipped destroyer USS John S. McCain will be going instead.

The Anonymous hacker group claims to have hacked North Korea, getting their hands on more than 15,000 passwords belonging to users of Uriminzokkiri.com, one of North Korea’s primary sites on the Internet. They released six sample user records and boldly demanded that Kim Jong-Un resign and installs free democracy in North Korea.

In addition, Anonymous demands North Korea stop seeking nuclear weapons and provide internet access to its citizens, saying, “First we gonna wipe your data, then we gonna wipe your badass dictatorship ‘government’.”

Anonymous claims to have access to the country’s local intranets, mail servers and web servers. Anonymous hackers claimed to have taken five of the country’s websites offline over the weekend. The next activity for the Anonymous #OpFreeKorea campaign is slated as happening on April 19.

What do you think about North being attacked by Anonymous?

North Korea Passwords Stolen By Anonymous Hackers For #OpFreeKorea is a post from: The Inquisitr

On Thursday, March 14, 2013, the United States Department of Justice indicted Reuters Deputy Social Media Editor Matthew Keys on three counts of hacking related felonies. Keys is accused of helping Anonymous hack the Tribune Company and one of its publications, The LA Times. If convicted, Mr. Keys is facing the possibility of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Keys, a resident of Sacramento, California will be arraigned on April 12, 2013 in Sacramento, and he is being defended by Michael Petrik of the Office of the Federal Defender for the eastern district of California.

According to the DOJ, Keys, 26, first contacted the Anonymous hacking collective after he was terminated from his web producer job at the Sacramento television station KTXS-Fox 40. In December of 2010, Keys is alleged to have entered an online forum under the alias of AESCracked  and encouraged Anonymous members to “go f— some shit up.”

Keys is accused of providing an Anonymous member with a username and password that would allow the hackers to access the content management system of Fox 40 and the LA Times. One hacker known as Sharpie later told Keys that he “had a whole front page layout made for the Chicago Tribune, but there [sic] sysadmins were good” and quickly removed him from the system. Another hacker claimed he changed a story on the LA Times website after gaining access by using the information he received from Mr. Keys.

While the Justice Department moved forward with the charges, Mr. Keys proclaimed his innocence  He insisted that all his contacts with Anonymous were made in the capacity of an investigative journalist. Prior to the events that led to his indictment, Keys even mentioned the LA Times hack in an article for Reuters, but he gave no indication of any involvement with the hackers. According to Keys, “I identified myself as a journalist during my interaction with the top-level Anonymous hackers and at no time did I offer said individuals any agreement of confidentiality.”

After the news of Keys indictment was made public, Reuters issued a brief statement about the case against their employee:

“We are aware of the charges brought by the Department of Justice against Matthew Keys, an employee of our news organization. Thomson Reuters is committed to obeying the rules and regulations in every jurisdiction in which it operates. Any legal violations, or failures to comply with the company’s own strict set of principles and standards, can result in disciplinary action. We would also observe the indictment alleges the conduct occurred in December 2010; Mr. Keys joined Reuters in 2012, and while investigations continue we will have no further comment.”

Despite the pressure of pending Federal charges, Keys seems to be upbeat and optimistic. Earlier this afternoon, he made the following post to his Twitter feed:

I am fine. I found out the same way most of you did: From Twitter. Tonight I’m going to take a break. Tomorrow, business as usual.

— Matthew Keys (@TheMatthewKeys) March 14, 2013

Reuters Employee Matthew Keys Charged With Helping Anonymous Hack Tribune Co. is a post from: The Inquisitr

Steubenville, OH – Approximately 40 witnesses were subpoenaed in the Steubenville rape case. The trial of two high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girls is expect to last at least three days. Television coverage is going to be permitted during the Ohio rape trial, but witnesses have been given the option to opt out of recordings and photographs.

Tweeting will not be allowed during the Ohio rape trial. A decision has not yet been made about live video streaming. Dozens of journalists arrived for a briefing about the Steubenville rape trial on Wednesday. The small Ohio city that was primarily only known for being Dean Martin’s hometown was thrust into the national spotlight when photos and videos related to the alleged rape went viral online.

A 12-minute video related to the alleged Steubenville rape case posted on YouTube took the story from a local to a national level. The hacker group known as Anonymous spearheaded the social media charge to push for the arrests of the popular football players. A cover-up was alleged by Anonymous, but local police officers pointed out the alleged rapists were charged within a few days of the supposed attack.

Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’Lik Richmond, 16, stand accused of raping the teenage girls after an August party. Mays allegedly raped the Steubenville girl inside a moving car. Richmond is accused of raping her in the basement of a home, the San Francisco Gate notes. Special prosecutors assigned by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine subpoenaed 28 witnesses. The defense attorney subpoenaed 12 people to the witness stand, 10TV reports.

Teenagers allegedly present at both supposed rape scenes are expected to be key components to the prosecution. Two of the three alleged eye-ball witnesses admitted they have taken pornographic photos or videos of the alleged incident. Although prosecutors reportedly told the two teenage boys they would be charged if the alleged rape images were found, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine stated the teens would not be arrested.

Do you think the football players will be convicted in the Steubenville rape case?

[Image Via: Shutterstock.com]

Steubenville Rape Trial: 40 Witnesses Subpoenaed is a post from: The Inquisitr

The hacker collective known as Anonymous was hacked this week by a rival group named Rustle League.

Anonymous, which has been extra busy this week by hacking high-profile Twitter feeds from company’s like Burger King, got a taste of their own medicine this week when their @Anon_Central account, which has more than 150,000 followers, taken over by Rustle League.

Rustle League wrote on the @Anon_Central account: WE ARE RUSTLE LEAGUE WE ARE ALPHA AS F*CK EXPECT JIMMIES

So what is the Rustle League? Vice.com reports that the hacking group, which consists of five main members, formed last Summer. They’re all reportedly 20-somethings working in the online security industry who moonlight as professional internet trolls.

Jaime Cochran, co-chair of Rustle League, said:

“We see ourselves as the old Anonymous, which is more about having fun and fucking with people rather than revolution and saving the world. Although, what we do does serve a purpose in society.”

The BBC reports that Anonymous was hacked due to a “human error.” Graham Cluley, senior consultant at security firm Sophos, said:

“The reason Anonymous fell victim is probably human weakness … Chances are that they followed poor password practices, like using the same password in multiple places or choosing a password that was easy to crack. Everyone should learn better password security from incidents like this – if it can happen to an account run by Anonymous supporters, it could happen to you.”

Anonymous, however, laughed at the claim saying: “lol BBC, you will have to wait for a full story.”

Are you surprised that Anonymous got hacked?

WE ARE RUSTLE LEAGUEWE ARE ALPHA AS FUCK EXPECT JIMMIES

— Anonymous Operations (@Anon_Central) February 21, 2013

Anonymous Hacked: Group’s Twitter Account Taken Over By Rustle League is a post from: The Inquisitr

While most of America spent their Sunday watching the Super Bowl, the Hacktivist collective Anonymous was hard at work, hacking the website of the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center and posting the personal information and Internet log in credentials of 4,000 American bank executives. According to ZDNet, the bankers on the list appear to be “”management at community banks, community credit unions and more, across the United States.”

While it is not known for certain where the information came from, there is a high possibility the list was acquired by hacking the servers of the Federal Reserve. Anonymous posted several Twitter messages taunting the government and hinted the information was released as part of Operation Last Resort; an Anonymous hacking action undertaken to force the Federal government to reform computer crime laws following the suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz.

The document was also posted to Pastebin, a content sharing website that Anonymous uses to mirror all its file dumps and public statements. The Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center promptly took down the compromised webpage, but, due to the extensive amount of mirror sites on the Internet, it was too late to stop the spread of the banker’s personal data.

Anonymous has been undergoing some internal conflict as of late due to a dispute between Anonymous X-Sect, an affiliated group, and other Anonymous members, who objected to their public criticism of Operation Last Resort. Anonymous X-Sect was concerned that the operation asked people to download an encrypted file from a link on a government website. They felt this was highly suspicious and Operation Last Resort might be phishing expedition or a false flag operation designed to justify a government crackdown on Internet Freedom.

After voicing their objections to Operation Last Resort on Facebook and Twitter and asking for some input from the Anonymous community, the group was repeatedly hacked by a small group of individuals claiming to be Anonymous members. Following several days of harassment,  X-Sect broke with long standing Anonymous traditions and reached out to The Inquisitr for a rare one-on-one interview to explain their concerns.

Due to the loose knit structure of Anonymous, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of any claims or actions attributed to the group. Anonymous has no leaders and no political affiliations  They speak in general terms about ending censorship, sharing information to the benefit of all, and keeping the Internet free of government interference. The invisible collective expresses a strong dislike of big government, predatory capitalists, and bankers who rob from the poor to give to themselves.

Most people are not aware that the overwhelming majority of people who say they are Anonymous members are not hackers but work in a more public capacity to support the group’s activities. As a result, the hacktivist movement is being pulled in two directions. There is disagreement between the hardcore hackers who are happy to do their own thing as they see fit and the members who would like to see Anonymous develop into a more focused movement for change and progress.

As Anonymous continues to grow and cope with its own success, this latest Operation is sure to get the attention of the Federal government. So far, Anonymous is refusing to speak to the media about Sunday’s data release, and the group has relied on provocative Twitter posts to get their message to the public. It seems that after a week of internal conflict, Anonymous is back on track and doing business as usual.

There is a strong possibility Sunday’s data dump is the first stage of the retaliation Anonymous promised if the demands made by Operation Last Resort were ignored. The day chosen to release the personal information of the 4,000 bankers has a direct tie-in to the death of Aaron Swartz and the group’s complaints about his ruthless treatment by The US Prosecutor’s office.

On January 28, 2013, the House Oversight Committee sent an open letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder that was highly critical of the vagueness of the Federal computer crime laws. Intended to be a bi-partisan statement, the letter was signed by Republican Congressman, Darrell Issa, and liberal Democrat, Elijah Cummings.

The committee posed hard questions about the government’s prosecution of Aaron Swartz and asked Holder directly if Aaaron Swartz was singled out for a harsh sentence because of his Internet activism and his strong anti-SOPA campaign. Holder was given a deadline of February 4, 2013 to respond, and, on Sunday, one Anonymous @OpLast Resort tweet made it clear that the Justice Department better come up with some answers on Monday.

The next few days may yield some interesting surprises depending on how Eric Holder decides to respond to Issa and Cummings’ request and how Anonymous reacts if Holder ignores the House committee, as he has done on many other occasions.

Now we have your attention America: Anonymous’s Superbowl Commercial 4k banker d0x via the FED acjic.alabama.gov/documents/oops… #opLastResort #Anonymous

— OpLastResort (@OpLastResort) February 4, 2013

And Yes 2day is DDay 4th Feb tic Toc on the Holder clock! We Want Answers oversight.house.gov/wp-content/upl… #oplastresort #floodthecourt Feb 6th

— OpLastResort (@OpLastResort) February 4, 2013

Anonymous Releases Personal Information Of 4,000 Bank Executives is a post from: The Inquisitr

By now, anyone who watches television, reads a newspaper or surfs the Internet has heard of Anonymous, the hacktivist collective that declared war on oppression, child pornography, big government, and Internet censorship. Anonymous and their affiliates have taken part in highly publicized attacks on Paypal, USSC. Gov, the Westboro Baptist Church, the Church of Scientology, the Department of Justice, the Israeli Government, Strategic Forecasting, and many other prominent targets since the group was founded in 2003.

Describing Anonymous is complicated. The public knows them from their YouTube videos announcing their attacks, complete with a spokesperson wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, voicing their battle cry, “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” The world hears about the latest Anonymous hacking adventure from the mass media, who hype every episode as if we were watching the doomsday scenario in the movie: WarGames.

Anyone can join Anonymous, simply by participating in the movement, and supporting the group’s principals. In reality, Anonymous are not hackers, they are activists who use their hacking skills as a tool of civil disobedience to fight against the system they oppose. In their worldview, they are fighting tyranny. The government, of course, views them simply as criminals and cyber-terrorists.

On January 25, 2013,  a person or persons claiming to be Anonymous hacked USSC. Gov, the website of the United States Sentencing Commission. The attack, called Operation Last Resort, attracted a storm of media attention and supporters initially celebrated the event as a triumph over the Leviathan know as the Federal Government. The website was defaced in memory of Internet Activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide several days earlier; a list of demands was posted, along with a link to download an encrypted file claiming to contain information about prominent public figures that would “bring down the government and cause chaos.”

A week after Operation Last Resort, the file remained encrypted and no information was released. The government basically ignored the threats and Janet Napolitano continued to demand a crackdown on the so-called cyber terrorists.

Behind the scenes, people in the hacktivist movement were beginning to wonder what exactly was going on. Why would anyone go to the trouble of hacking an important government website, make serious demands cloaked in threats of retribution, and then drop the issue? People began to wonder who was really responsible for the attack on USSC. Gov and what was the true purpose of Operation Last Resort?

All hell broke loose when a group named Anonymous X-SecT began to ask these same questions publicly on their websites and Facebook pages. They also offered some possible answers. They wondered if Anonymous was really behind Operation Last Resort or if it was a false flag attack by an intelligence agency of the United Sates Government. Was Operation Last Resort intended to identify anyone who downloaded the data bomb and build a file to be used against them in a government crackdown?

Anonymous X-SecT also raised another frightening possibility. What if Operation Last Resort was actually the effort of a highly sophisticated criminal organization, intended to gather personal information and hijack users computers? Could Operation Last Resort have been the phishing expedition to end all phishing expeditions, designed to enrich powerful cyber criminals?

Instead of receiving a rational response that resulted in a productive dialog, several members of the hacktivist community decided to attack Anonymous X-SecT. They claimed X-SecT betrayed the movement and proceeded to hack their websites and Facebook pages. Obscenity laced messages were directed at X-SecT, along with a good deal of personal slander.

Clearly, the response from a vocal minority of the community was to try and shoot the messenger. Instead of addressing the issues X-SecT raised, and inspiring dedicated activists to work more effectively for change as Anonymous X-SecT had intended, a small group decided to impose a heckler’s veto on their own allies.

All of these events took place in full view of the public on the Internet, and eventually came to the attention of The Inquisitr’s Wolff Bachner, who wrote a detailed article about Operation Last Resort and the issues raised by Anonymous X-SecT.

After the article was published by The Inquisitr on Thursday, January 31, 2001, several reader comments were posted below the article that criticized Anonymous X-SecT, including one that contained a threat to take over X-SecT’s Facebook pages and groups. Co-incidentally, The Inquisitr received a tweet from Anonymous X-SecT, offering to sit down for an exclusive interview. The group said they wanted to clear the air and explain why they went public with their criticism of Operation Last Resort.

As a rule, Internet activists are not overly fond of the press, and they rarely grant interviews. The Inquisitr decided to accept the offer, and in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, February 2, 2013, Wolff Bachner conducted a no-holds barred, one-on-one conversation with Xero Flux, the spokesperson of Anonymous X-SecT.

INTERVIEW WITH XERO FLUX OF ANONYMOUS -X-SECT:

Wolff Bachner: I’m here with Xero Flux, who is the designated spokesperson for Anonymous X-Sect. He will be answering our questions about his group and the uproar created when X-SecT decided to criticize Operation Last Resort.

Before we discuss the infighting in the hacktivist community, I’m sure our readers would like to know more about your group.

The name of your group is Anonymous X-SecT. How are you affiliated with the hacktivist collective that has come to be known as Anonymous? Is there an actual structure or can anyone use the name Anonymous?

Xero Flux: Our individual affiliations vary drastically. As does the entirety of anonymous. Eventually after using chats long enough you can get to know certain people. It goes from there depending on those involved. People tend to link up with those they feel they can trust. Usually small groups form and operations develop. We have yet to see an operation that utilized all of anonymous and its collective power.

We do want to make clear before we go further that Anonymous X-SecT is not a hacking group (nor has ever claimed to be or done a single hacking or illegal activity), but yes we understand the general perceptions within the public that anyone with that “anonymous” tag is a shadow hacker. This simply is not the case. In fact the large majority of anonymous “members” are not hackers, but rather activists, protestors, artists, and everyday people.

We have the same contact within the structure of anonymous as anyone. Being that anonymous has no structure there simply is no “official” communication method. So when an operation appears, you have nobody official that can confirm it whatsoever. You either follow the band wagon, or don’t participate.

In theory nobody can join anonymous because we are all anonymous to begin with, but as anonymous has evolved so have the unspoken rules. In the older days once identity was exposed you were out, that was it. Now, people like me who have not hidden their identity’s are just as welcome. So yes. Anyone can claim the anon tag or step up and be a voice, create a sect, and so on. The only thing that can stop a corrupt cell or person claiming the anonymous banner is if the message is corrupt enough that other anons will we react appropriately. Anon is becoming more volatile as each week passes, and for awhile X-SecT has been a lone voice in the community trying to repair the holes we see that are popping up.

Since there are no official rules, the majority usually keep to certain agreements; (for example You do not hack or assault other Anons, you do not rat out those you have worked with on specific operations, and the one we have broken today, by speaking with media.) We do this because with recent events we no longer have the ability to do our work effectively and if other anons wont back us up, we will do whatever we can to assure our opinion, information, and opinion is released to the public.

Wolff Bachner: What are the goals of your group? Do you have a specific philosophy or do you follow the anything goes, free for all attitude that the mainstream media always refers to when they describe the hacktivist movement?

Xero Flux: We have no one goal, but what binds and keeps us together is the defense of our freedom of expression, the protection of internet freedoms, and to take back our birth rights of true freedom from the tyrannical governments who have hijacked them.

As for a purpose, we would have to say simply to raise awareness and assist those seeking answers on what is going on around the world as well as to aid those frightened, confused, or scared after coming to grips with some of the data we share. We do not tell people what to believe, as we only give them the data in the hopes of stimulating their minds. We let them do the rest on their own, but we are there if they could use a friend, an opinion, or even someone just to relate with during a rough day of coping with the situation. We are all in this together and we feel obligated to do what we do, because we can. We all found each other for a reason! We do not believe in coincidences.

We do have some basic internal guidelines within X-SecT. While we all believe in total freedom, we understand the chaos that comes from zero organization. In example if we speak as X-SecT as I am right now, we have to make sure you do not add your personal opinion unless the majority of the sect agrees. (Determined through internal debate and discussions) We also have basic decency rules for our public pages/sites/posts. Adult content, irrelevant postings, spam, the usual unwelcome eye sores to any online media is not tolerated. We believe in freedom of speech, but when trying to raise a point on information that shakes the core of the person you are speaking with, if they see for example a half naked babe posted right after – they will most likely not take us seriously. It’s hard enough getting folks to honestly look at facts in this day and age. We are not the only ones who employ this type of basic common sense and decency, so yes the mainstream media is distorting the facts on this one, big surprise!

X-Sect is a year old this week and we have only had to remove one person. So, overall this system is working for us very well.

It’s very rare if not impossible to get all sects on board with a single operation or ideal with so many people involved, and the vastly differing views on politics, religion, and society that come along with that. This is partially why Anonymous is what we call in a make or break phase. How Anonymous as a collective handles these ridiculously accepted internal issues and how the public relations pans out will either give anonymous more strength, or divide it further into chaos. We URGE all Anonymous to unify. Stop the infighting, stop the drama, get back to what got you started in the movement! Most importantly, when you see childish behavior speak out. It’s only becoming so prevalent because its tolerated.

Wolff Bachner: How do you plan to achieve your goals? What can you, as a small group of concerned Internet activists, do to affect change and keep the World Wide Web free of government control?

Xero Flux: By doing what we have been doing as X-SecT for a year now. Posting, commenting, sharing videos, bugging the guy on the street to research the NDAA and so on. We have seen first hand after aiding new comers that they turn around and do the same. Essentially we are all ripples of the same truth waves. Almost a cyber version of pay it forward. This is how anonymous is growing so quickly and has such an influx of non-hacking members. Once the ripple effect is large enough we expect the truth to be nearly impossible to keep hidden behind the distorted lies, and smear campaigns..

At the moment, admittedly no we do not have the magic answer to fix the internet censorship issue, but we believe the answer will not be hard to produce once the majority of the world are ready for real change. So we move on with providing information and aiding those willing to learn. In the hopes one day we will have enough awareness to create that effective change.

Wolff Bachner: Why did Anonymous X-SecT decide to risk the wrath of the community and come forward with your concerns about Operation Last Resort? Why were you concerned about Operation Last Resort?

Xero Flux: We are always speaking out, this time it just happened to be on something with the name anonymous attached to it. As with all our research we researched with neutral views and were left with many questions, little information, and a lot of risk. We spoke out immediately for two main reasons:

1) To protect ourselves digitally by stating and making clear we had nothing to do with this operation. As we feel this is being used to tag anons for future false flags, arrest, or even assassination.

2) To warn our brothers and sister so they would see our concerns and collectively address them. Nothing hurts us more than to see people mislead without looking at facts or asking questions. It hurt us greatly to see allies following something with such shady signs of manipulation.

Wolff Bachner: What do you think is the real purpose behind Operation Last Resort. Have you been able to pinpoint any specific evidence that makes you think Operation Last Resort was a false flag operation or a scam?

Xero Flux: That’s a tricky one. Nobody really knows (of who is talking) and that’s the problem. All we do know for certain is the operation leaders enjoy asteroids… and playing games with the American public as well as fellow anons. When they threatened the US government with chaos if demands were not met we feel they crossed a very serious line that puts not just those participating in danger, but anyone under the anonymous banner.

We honestly just feel this is a set up as detailed in your previous article. Our list of concerns has not shrunk since they were posted.

Anons with ability to hack USSC would not play games like this, make threats, and produce no data. Then ask the public to download an unknown file. None of it adds up to what we have seen with other larger projects. No collaboration of sects, just bang here it is!

Wolff Bachner: Who is attacking Anonymous X-SecT for speaking out about Operation Last Resort and why are they doing it?

Xero Flux: This is one we need to be careful with as we are not out to slander people, but according to “self admissions” they are Antisec’s (Ben Burnette and DaBlack Packet) who are doing the hacking, while they have younger uninformed anon goons spamming and trying to troll us into oblivion.

As for why such an attack – ask them, as they have changed their reason at least 3 times now and by the time I write it down it will have changed yet again. These people have no moral code and are not legitimate freedom fighters, they are self admitted trolls that also claim to be anonymous. After what we have seen, documented, and discovered we can say with 100% certainty they are not working for good or the collective itself.

Hacking a website that thousands visit over personal grudges hurts all those people locked from that information. All because they disagreed with an opinion.

They started all this by one day demanding I (Xero) take down the page on our website regarding this operation, or our website would be hacked, “final and only warning” -DaBlack Packet.

We refused and still do. It is our right to question whatever we wish and we refused to be pressured  or censor ourselves. We did not insult anyone and we clearly stated our concerns and left it at that. The following day you published the article regarding our stance and that’s when they went ballistic.

Within hours they had hacked just about everything we had control of. Spamming, insulting people on our accounts, deleting our posts, kicking admins. Just utterly defaced our community. Affecting over 3,000 people in private groups we created for others, which they also destroyed by closing. All this because they didn’t get their way in censoring our opinion on the operation.

We have a hard time believing random hackers with this type of access and skill are spending this much energy on us. It all appears to be pressure from the top. Factor in Facebook still not replying to a single one of us and both hackers are still posting as us as we speak here. Why would Facebook allow this? Who really knows, but sadly, this is not the first time we have been put through this with them and their complete lack of assistance.

Wolff Bachner: Operation Last Resort, and the confusion about who was behind the attack on USSC.Gov, has created a quite a bit of chaos in the internet activist community. Is there a sense among Anonymous X-SecT members, and in the larger community, that the movement is in jeopardy?

Xero Flux: Well, before this operation went public there already was much worry that the movement was being hijacked as well as split apart. This is also why we took it slow in our reaction to this operation. As not to make rash decisions during critical times.

Many anons also believe along with us that these types of attacks and operations are classic signs and tactics of a divide and conquer agenda, while others are blindly supporting this operation for whatever reason they have concluded. Most, from our polling, appear to be the younger, less experience anons that get sucked up into these types of psyops.

Wolff Bachner: The great majority of Americans base their knowledge of Anonymous on what the mainstream media tells them. They think of Neon in the Matrix, hiding in his tiny room, hacking the planet to spread chaos and bring down the system. The government has portrayed Anonymous as a group of dangerous criminals, who will crash trains, tamper with traffic lights, shut down power plants, and empty people’s bank accounts; an out of control collective that is endangering people’s very lives.

Is the media giving an accurate picture of internet activists or is there more to the hacktivist movement? Is the government misrepresenting the movement in order to crack down and take control of the World Wide Web?

Xero Flux: Is the media giving an accurate picture of what we are about? Absolutely NOT. Some independent media outlets do spread the message properly, but the usual suspects – you know, the alphabet channels, definitely distort the message and use well known tactics to fit their agenda. The big media machines will not give anonymous members who are not paid off a voice, it is that simple. We have written enough emails and made enough phone calls that if they wanted real answers, they could have them. Instead we don’t even get a sorry not interested reply.

Wolff Bachner: Why are so many people willing to openly identify themselves as part of Anonymous and run the risk of serious legal issues, financial damage, and even imprisonment?

Xero Flux: This is a great question and one we hope it opens the eyes of some of your readers who may doubt anything we have to say. Simply put, we have no fear. We are sick of waiting for a hero to arrive and will not tolerate the lies, distortion, and manipulation any longer. With a mask on you can only do so much. Hacking a website will only do so much. Those who risk themselves like we do honestly do it for the greater good even though many may see it as the opposite.

When the game is in the 4th quarter, and 30 seconds are left on the clock, you don’t have time to pussy foot around, and for activists like us a mask is in the way, its takes away our credibility, and aids sites like Facebook in banning us for not providing proper identification. All bumps in the road that many would rather just drive over and pray they don’t bottom out.

Wolff Bachner: Is hacking really the main activity of the community or are most of the people who self identify as Anonymous also using legal means of protest to build a movement for change?

Xero Flux: Absolutely not. In fact it’s the least you see going on. Yes, Operations attacking pedophiles go an all the time, and others are ongoing, but in regards to the size and amount of people participating, it’s not even a small fraction of those who would be called or call themselves anonymous. Most if not all large hacks by anonymous were done by small groups of people, not the collective itself. Many just love to jump on the bandwagon to feel as if they did it. They need to feed that ego.

Wolff Bachner: Do you believe Anonymous can, or even should, evolve to become a more focused movement for change and personal freedom? Can the hactivist movement find a place as the internet’s version of Occupy, without having to rely on hacking and other illegal activities?

Xero Flux: Yes it can, but it will take serious dedication and courage from those in the shadows, as well as those on the “front lines” as we call it. Front lines being when you deal with the public directly trying to make your case and share the core information the media machines distort.

It’s amazing how scared of information so many people are. We can easily evolve if the majority does not allow a select few to determine the direction the collective moves. To grow and survive anon must learn to utilize the great power of so many voices and separate skill sets.

Assuming hacking can solve world issues is pretty much a pipe dream at this point. The activist angle is the only viable angle left to legally keep the message spreading in order to increase the effect the collective has. Until these issues are addressed, groups will just continue to argue with each other and be pitted against each other by the manipulators. The power of one person’s voice is so under-rated…. If people only understood the power their voice has if they truly stand up and use it. Combine that with the size and scope of anonymous and you have an unstoppable collective capable of anything.

Wolff Bachner: Aaron is gone but his work lives on. Without addressing the dispute over Operation Last Resort, what would you like to say about Aaron Swartz and his contribution making the world a better place?

Xero Flux: We have nothing but love for Aaron, and his work. We just want to make sure that is noted. As for his work, he is an inspiration. He had the courage to do what he felt was right, and deserved a heroes welcome, not attacks from a so called government of the people. We can only hope to build from the ripple he has created. We will always be grateful to him for his dedication and courage.

Wolff Bachner: Is there anything you would like add before I thank you for time, and we go our separate ways?

Xero Flux: You pretty much nailed it. The only thing we would like to add is we expect heavy assault when this is published, and we accept that. However we are not here to play cloak and dagger games. We are here to share information on what is going on with the world. So to anyone who is involved in new operations assaulting us, just think for a moment that you are assaulting people who have done nothing but assist thousands openly. While those accusing us of everything but the kitchen sink came out of thin air and go unquestioned.

THE ROAD AHEAD FOR ANONYMOUS X-SECT AND THE HACKTIVIST MOVEMENT:

Those of us who are old enough to have lived through the 1960′s, especially those of us who participated in the Anti-War movement and the Hippie rebellion, have seen this before. An idea gives birth to a movement for change. People unite to build a better world and they risk everything to work for their goals.

At first they are successful. The movement is fresh, young, full of energy and people truly believe in the possibility of change. But slowly and surely, their own success comes back to haunt them. The establishment fights back, the media latches on to the latest hot topic to sell more ad space, and the police begin to crack heads.

Then the infighting and paranoia starts to take over, dedicated activists turn on each other, and all the good that was accomplished is washed away in a sea of chaos and destruction.

Hopefully, the new generation of activists will learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and not allow themselves to meet the same fate as the protesters of the 1960′s. Dreams of a new world gave way to drug addiction and death and the movement plunged into darkness.

Today, there are more than a dozen military conflicts taking place on planet earth and hundreds of thousands have died. Poverty and disease is widespread and the world economy is controlled by a few hundred billionaires and major corporations. Faith and spirituality is being exploited by religious extremists determined to prove their G*d is the strongest.

Politicians come and go, promising Hope and Change but nothing ever changes. How many of us are better off today than our parents were in their prime? How many of us have massive debts, a low paying job, and no prospects for a decent future? Is working until we die, while living hand to mouth, an acceptable fate for each of us?

Anonymous struck a chord with millions of activists who have had enough of the status quo and broken promises. The movement is much more than a few talented hackers, hiding in the shadows. There are millions of energetic people, ready and willing to come out from behind the mask and unite with common purpose to find newer and more effective ways to battle oppression and tyranny.

The next step is up to the hacktivist movement. Will they fall into chaos, as we did in the 1960′s, and consume their dreams in flames or will they rise like the Phoenix from the ashes and triumph to build a new and better world?

Anonymous X-SecT Exclusive Interview: Hacktivists Explain Criticism Of Attack On USSC. Gov is a post from: The Inquisitr

London, England – Anonymous member, hacker Jake Birchall, now 18, will not have to serve time in jail. When he was 16 years old, Birchall was detained for his suspected role in the cyber-attack conspiracy Operation Payback, along with other Anonymous members. The group distributed denial of service (DDoS) to websites whose views they did not agree with. The hackers cost Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa millions, paralyzing computer systems between August 1, 2010 and January 22, 2011.

Birchall has successfully avoided serving jail time for his alleged crimes. A judge in the case ruled Friday that Birchall is affected by “special needs” due to his profound isolation, and is therefore not fit for prison. Birchall met the diagnosed criteria for “certain conditions.” Instead, Judge Peter Testar sentenced Birchall to an 18-month term in youth rehabilitation and a 60-hour unpaid work requirement, according to The Guardian.

Testar warned had he been older Birchall would have likely faced jail time:

“I recognize that when you committed this offence, when you were involved in this conspiracy, you were 16 years old. You should be serving a custodial sentence and a substantial one at that. But I have to sentence you with the fact that you were under 18 when convicted in mind.”

Birchall’s co-accused conspirators were sentenced last week. Christopher Weatherhead, 22 at the time of the crime, received the longest sentence of 18-months in jail. Ashley Rhodes, 28, was given seven months. Peter Gibson, 24, was spared and doled a six-month suspended jail term.

Anonymous is a renowned online activist (hacktivist) group which originated in 2003, who vehemently oppose internet censorship. They retaliate against anti-digital piracy campaigns. They have been accused of hacking various government websites and targeting security corporations and surveillance. Iconically, Anonymous members distinguish themselves by donning Guy Fawkes masks, synonymous to those seen in the 2005 film V for Vendetta.

[Image via Rob Kints / Shutterstock.com]

Hacktivist Jake Birchall Spared Substantial Jail Sentence is a post from: The Inquisitr

On January 26, 2013, USSC.Gov was hacked by a person or persons claiming to be members of Anonymous. The hackers named the attack Operation Last resort and they posted a moving tribute to fallen internet activist Aaron Swartz, plus a list of demands for the United States government. The message warned the government that unless they began to respect Human Rights, freedom, and Democracy, damaging information would be revealed to the American people. Now, a week later, another member of the internet’s activist community, Anonymous X-SecT, is warning the public that a government intelligence agency was responsible for Operation Last Resort.

Included in the message posted on USSC.Gov was a link to download a file the hackers claimed contained encrypted information that would create world wide chaos and destroy many powerful public figures. As with Julian Assange’s notorious “insurance file,” the data will only accessible if and when a key is released to unlock the file. So far, as with the WikiLeaks files, there has been no further word about the secret file or what it may contain.

After we first became aware of the claims made by Anonymous X-SecT, we decided to investigate. We quickly discovered the group maintains a large and rather public presence on various websites and they were by no means shy about their disdain for the people who hacked USSC.Gov.

Anonymous X-SecT has several serious concerns about Operation Last Resort, beginning with their doubts that real Anonymous members would actually ask the public to download locked files. The potential risk to anyone who is foolish enough to trust a file from a link posted by self proclaimed hackers on a public website run by the United States government is enormous. While many of our readers are already aware of the risks, we will go over them briefly.

A large percentage of internet users have experienced first hand the total mayhem that can occur when you download a file from an unknown source. Your computer may end up being used in a network of servers used to spam porn emails by the millions. You may have permitted a rogue’s gallery of internet criminals to access to all your personal information, including your credit card numbers, Paypal account and online bank accounts. Of course, there is even the remote possibility that if you follow the link from USSC.Gov to the download, you may be added to a wide assortment of government databases, including those maintained by the CIA, NSA, DOJ and the FBI.

The people at Anonymous X-SecT have a long list of issues with Operation Last Resort, which they outlined on their website:

“We are getting many questions on facebook and Xero is getting many via this websites contact form regarding Operation Last Resort. While we cannot give you direct proof this is a propaganda operation we can give you the reasons why it appears as such.”

“1) On Sunday I (Xero Flux) was able to reach AnonymousIRC (one of the more reputable Twitter channels for long term trusted Anonymous activity) and they claim the USSC on @doxbin is a faked, and comprised of data ripped from a two year old document they released. (Typical Cointel style, take others work and give it a facelift.)”

“2) The night of release they were caught censoring posts asking questions or pointing out that this operation forces all sects to comply and goes directly against the core anon protocol.”

“3) Nobody on IRC can vouch for the credibility of those leading this operation. Anonymous is one thing but when your fellow anons are completly clueless who you are and where you came from when you bust out the gates with an operation this scope is quiet suspicious.”

“4) The same day literally hours before this release Department of Homeland security named Cyber threats a severe issue and is trying to use this threat to enact SOPA style laws with executive order. This operation gives them a perfect example of WHY.”

“5) This paints all anons as hacktivists, something anyone with a brain knows it a complete media machine lie to discredit ACTIVISTS under the same banner.”

“6) A youtube acocunt claiming/admitting to hacking a government site would not be permitted to STILL be active (Note: It is Tuesday Morning 4:16am and still up). It would be ripped down as soon as the first fed hit the video after the hack. YET it;s still up, with no penalty and everyone ignores this fact.”

“7) ALL credible sources/anon cells to date have no idea who is running this operation. It came out of thin air and is using old anon operations data claiming its new.”

“Make up your own mind but you know where we stand. We wont be downloading “warheads” or supporting this is any way as we truly believe this will bite those who participate in the ass. As it labels us all terrorists looking for “CHAOS” and if you dont think cyber authorities will take this to the cleaners, you’re still a noob.”

The very nature of the hacktivist movement makes it difficult, if not almost impossible, to make sense of this situation. However, Anonymous X-SecT presented some serious food for thought with their comments. You will have to ask yourself if you believe the Obama Administration or the United States government would hack their own website, post an encrypted file to download that supposedly contains top secret information, and then collect personal information on anyone who tries to download the file.

This latest twist and turn in the Anonymous saga also points out an important flaw in the concept of an activist organization that is made up of hundreds of people who don’t know each other and share no common ideology. When Anonymous first began, the concept worked well because it was totally unexpected. But as they became better known, and started to go after bigger targets, it became increasingly difficult to figure out exactly who was doing what to whom.

There are millions of people who consider Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Anonymous heroes who fight for justice and the open exchange of information. We will not pass judgement on them, but we will agree that the internet must remain free from any government interference. The World Wide Web may be the last bastion of truth and freedom and allowing the United Nations or any nation’s government to control or censor any part of the internet would be a catastrophic step on the road to tyranny.

Anonymous X-SecT Claims Intelligence Agency, Not Anonymous, Hacked USSC.Gov is a post from: The Inquisitr

As The Inquisitr reported earlier tonight, Anonymous has struck again; hacking the website of the US Sentencing Commission in memory of fallen Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz. The feared Hacktivist Collective swore revenge on the government for the January 11, 2013 suicide of the dedicated social activist, which they feel occurred as a direct result of the relentless pressure the Federal Prosecutor’s office was putting on Aaron.

Anonymous blamed the Massachusetts Federal Prosecutor for terrorizing Swartz by threatening him with millions of dollars in fines, and 35 years or more in prison, for allegedly hacking Jstor, a subscription-only website that distributes scientific and literary journals.

Aaron Swartz had a fully legal account to use the website and download articles, but the Federal Attorney wanted to make an example of him, according to Swartz’s family members and close friends. Jstor, who experienced no financial harm, declined to press criminal charges, but the Prosecutor insisted on proceeding with the case.

United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who is reported to be contemplating a run for Governor of Massachusetts, served Mr. Swartz with a 13 felony indictment.  Not one of the one of the millions of articles Swartz downloaded from Jstor was ever distributed to the public, but the Feds indicted him anyway, claiming Aaron was planning to make them available to the world for free.

We will never know the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in the legal war against Aaron Swartz. Within hours of his death, the Prosecutor’s office announced they were dropping the case. What we do know is Aaron believed in the free distribution of information.  He wanted people in every single country, rich or poor, to have open access to the accumulated knowledge of the human race.

Certainly government officials, corporate executives, and researchers funded by multi-million dollar grants from the Defense Department, will disagree with Swartz. They will claim they have a right to share information as they see fit and to turn a profit on their investment. They firmly believe in maximum secrecy and minimum accountability.

The battle of knowledge vs. profit has been raging for centuries, but over the last 18 months the Occupy Movement brought the greed of the American establishment to the attention of the world. When Anonymous made the decision to boldly venture forth from behind their computers and join thousands of Occupy protesters on the front lines, they rededicated the collective to a coherent program of social justice..

Activists across the nation have joined with Anonymous to ask a simple question. Will each and every human being share in the fruits of progress or will the top 20 percent continue to control 85 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the richest one percent of the American population owns 34.6 percent of the country’s total wealth?

With the dawn of each new day, the gap between the haves and have nots is growing wider. The people are growing angrier and more frustrated as they continue the one way plunge to poverty and oppression in the new American security state. We have cameras on every light pole, drones over our cities, and our personal privacy is non-existent. We are being treated like sheep while we fight for scraps and labor until we drop.

Opposing the might of the state, we have the loose knit group of computer hackers, crackers, communications specialists, and assorted mad geniuses who make up the Hacktivist Collective called Anonymous. Although the group still maintains their secrecy and their proclivity for creating chaos, many of the 99 percent have embraced Anonymous with open arms.

Over the last few weeks, Anonymous battled the Westboro Baptist Church, after the haters from Kansas announced plans to picket the funerals of the 20 children and six teachers killed in the Newtown shootings. They hacked MIT’s website the day after Aaron committed suicide and they launched several successful hacking projects in support of the Second Amendment.

This evening, Anonymous began Operation Last Resort, as a tribute to Aaron Swartz, and to put the mighty United States Government on notice that injustice will no longer be tolerated. Should the powers that control the United States decide to arrogantly ignore tonight’s final warning and continue to oppress the American people, Anonymous promises they will release “Warhead – U S – D O J – L E A – 2013 . A E E 256,” a data bomb containing damaging personal information on many of America’s most prominent public figures.

“The contents are various and we won’t ruin the speculation by revealing them. Suffice it to say, everyone has secrets, and some things are not meant to be public. “

How this will all turn out is hard to say. Predicting the future is not our line of work and Anonymous is an extremely independent collective of talented human beings who cover every single point of the philosophical and political compass. Even so, they are bringing new hope to the millions who believe in a free society. While the privileged few who occupy positions of power continue to call Anonymous members criminals, many Americans are starting to call them heroes.

Tonight, Anonymous declared war; a war for justice and fairness that they are prepared to wage using all the many skills at their disposal. After posting their statement of demands and a video on USSC. Gov,  Anonymous concluded their invasion of the website with one short line of warning, informing the government they will not be allowed to avoid changing what needs to be changed. America’s so-called leaders must right the wrongs they have committed against the people of this planet before it is too late.

“This time there will be change, or there will be chaos… We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

Anonymous Warns America’s ‘Masters Of Deceit’: Hacks USSC.Gov For Aaron Swartz is a post from: The Inquisitr

The feared libertarian Hacktivist collective, Anonymous, decided to send President Obama a very personal message for his inauguration. Comparing the President to Nazi leader Adolph Hitler in their protest against Obama’s gun control policies, the hackers released a highly provocative 15 minute video accusing the President of trying to disarm legal gun owners in order to impose tyranny. Anonymous took Mr. Obama to task for what they believe is the President’s well thought out plan to exploit the American people’s sincere sympathy for the young victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to force his gun grabbing agenda on law abiding citizens.

“Throughout history, authoritarian governments have used gun violence as an excuse to take people’s firearms and control their population.This is exactly what Adolf Hitler did to disarm the German people and look at the atrocities his administration did. Obama has been working hard to try and ban all semi-automatic weapons and shot guns while at the same time increasing the weapons and firepower that police and government agencies have.”

Anonymous pulled no punches in their attack on the President’s policies and his cheering section of talking heads and journalists.The hacking group assailed the mainstream media for their constant, dishonest exploitation of tragic murders to launch an assault on the Second Amendment. Anonymous believes the media is working hand in hand with Obama to demonize legal gun owners while they ignore the deadly violence committed by law enforcement against American citizens.

The video spoke angrily about several controversial shootings of unarmed suspects by police including the murder of a handcuffed prisoner in San Francisco that resulted in days of violent rioting. Anonymous also addressed the well documented fact that the American cities with the strictest laws against legal gun ownership have the highest rates of murder and violent crime in the nation.

As might be expected, liberal supporters of Obama tried their best to discredit the video by claiming it was a fake of dubious origin. In an obvious act of desperation, one blogger even claimed the video was actually created by the NRA as a means to provoke a violent attack on the President

Anonymous stands by their statement concerning the President’s freedom crushing agenda. The video is identical in appearance and tone to the recent series of videos the group produced when they declared war on the Westboro Baptist Church for threatening to picket the children’s funerals in Newtown, Connecticut. As always, Anonymous proudly voiced their strong support for human rights and individual liberty while condemning the intrusion into every aspect of our lives by an all powerful, big brother government.

They are Anonymous! They are legion! They do not forgive! The do not forget! Expect them!

Anonymous Compares Obama To Hitler For His Gun Control Policies is a post from: The Inquisitr

This will put a bright spin on your day: Apparently the unstoppable force of Westboro Baptist Church has finally met its own immovable object in the hactivist collective known as Anonymous.

Westboro has never backed down from anything to our knowledge, but they recently pulled out of their planned picket of Reddit co-founder and Internet activist Aaron Swartz’s funeral. Why? Because Anonymous apparently threatened them, and after causing them all sorts of “financial difficulties,” WBC apparently listened.

Smell that? It’s fear being turned on the fear-monger.

HuffPo reports that members of Anonymous and their supporters showed up to Swartz’s funeral to block Westboro’s picket line, but the Christian-esque hate group was nowhere to be seen.

But Westboro did promise to be there in a lengthy press release titled “GOD H8S Cyber Criminal THUGS.”

“Cyber criminals are the latest face of this nation’s and this world’s raging at God and His Servants at WBC,” said the press release. “Now the gloves are off, cyber rebels! … We will picket the funeral, the LORD willing, so that in that Great Day of His Wrath, your blood is not on our hands.”

Despite all that bark, Westboro’s presence consisted of a phone call from WBC’s lawyer to local police, confirming that they were staying in on the day of Swartz’s funeral.

Earlier this week, a video was uploaded to YouTube by ChannelZeroYT11, (an allegedly Anonymous-controlled account) announcing that the group would protect Aaron Swartz’s funeral from Westboro Baptist, and apologizing to Swartz’s family and friends for their “continuous condemnation and attacks against this cult” as the likely “reason Aaron is being targeted by them.”

You can watch that video below. In any case, we’re betting that this is a game-changer against the WBC and that Anonymous, though controversial, might play a huge role in giving them their just desserts … even if all they do is intimidate them into silence.

Westboro Baptist Is Officially Terrified Of Anonymous [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The tragic suicide of Reddit co-founder and political hell-raiser, Aaron Swartz, at the young age of only 26 has awakened the fury of Anonymous. The hacktivist collective placed the blame for his suicide squarely on the shoulders of the United States Government and their overzealous prosecution of computer crime. Anonymous and other organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are highly critical of the manner in which the Federal government uses cyber-crime laws to control knowledge and silence critics. To express their outrage, Anonymous hacked the MIT website and replaced the homepage with a memorial to Aaron Swartz.

For years now, the federal government has been spending vast sums of money on prosecutions of young activists for hacking and software piracy. There was Operation Bandwidth in 2001 that cost millions of tax dollars and resulted in 21 individuals being charged with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for pirating several million dollars worth of software. Seven years later, the case was finally closed with a press release on the DOJ website and not one day in jail for any of the defendants or one cent of promised restitution.

Aaron Swartz was awaiting prosecution for allegedly using MIT”s computer’s to hack Jstor, a subscription-only service for distributing important scientific and literary journals. Disturbed by the secrecy of  government funded scientific research, Swartz threatened to release millions of pages of research to the public. Facing a trial in April of 2013 and the possibility of millions of dollars in fines and 35 years in prison, Swartz took his own life.

While others might claim that Aaron was also suffering from severe clinical depression and that was the reason for his suicide, Anonymous, the feared hacking group, is convinced the US government is to blame. Today, in memory of Aaron Swartz, they hacked the MIT website and posted their tribute to a fallen cyber-warrior.

Anonymous slammed the Federal Prosecutors Office for  ”a grotesque miscarriage of justice” and “a distorted and perverse shadow of the justice that Aaron died fighting for” and posted a list of demands:

“We call for this tragedy to be a basis for reform of computer crime laws, and the overzealous prosecutors who use them.”

“We call for this tragedy to be a basis for reform of copyright and intellectual property law, returning it to the proper principles of common good to the many, rather than private gain to the few.”

“We call for this tragedy to be a basis for greater recognition of the oppression and injustices heaped daily by certain persons and institutions of authority upon anyone who dares to stand up and be counted for their beliefs, and for greater solidarity and mutual aid in response.”

“We call for this tragedy to be a basis for a renewed and unwavering commitment to a free and unfettered internet, spared from censorship with equality of access and franchise for all.”

The debate over the right of the public to have free access to information has raged for centuries. The Roman Catholic Church censored knowledge by burning people at the stake or silencing them in fear as they did to Galileo. The United States Government is holding several hackers in prison right now, without bail, including LulzSec Member, Jeremy Hammond. Hackers are facing life in prison for releasing information that many feel is for the good of society.

Recently, Anonymous went from heel to hero when they hacked the hated Westboro Baptist Church after the religious fanatics from Kansas threatened to picket the funerals of the children killed in Newtown,Connecticut. After they exposed all the personal information of the leadership of the Westboro Church, the group was suddenly viewed as performing a public service.

America has a long tradition of heroes like Aaron Swartz, who sacrificed their own freedom, and sometimes their lives, to preserve our nation. Our government has not always conducted itself in an ethical and honorable fashion and it is up to each and every one of us to preserve our Republic or go down in the flames of tyranny.

Aaron was a brilliant young man who had so much more to give to the world. His death, by his own hand, at only 26 years old is a tragedy. How much better might our lives have been if Aaron had lived to fulfill his dreams and achieve all his goals? While we may contemplate the answers, we give the final word to his family and his life partner:

“Our beloved brother, son, friend, and partner Aaron Swartz hanged himself on Friday in his Brooklyn apartment. We are in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing.”

“Aaron’s insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable—these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter. We’re grateful for our time with him, to those who loved him and stood with him, and to all of those who continue his work for a better world.”

“Aaron’s commitment to social justice was profound, and defined his life. He was instrumental to the defeat of an Internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open, and accountable political system; and he helped to create, build, and preserve a dizzying range of scholarly projects that extended the scope and accessibility of human knowledge. He used his prodigious skills as a programmer and technologist not to enrich himself but to make the Internet and the world a fairer, better place. His deeply humane writing touched minds and hearts across generations and continents. He earned the friendship of thousands and the respect and support of millions more.”

“Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.”

“Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost.”

Anonymous Hacks MIT in Memory Of Aaron Swartz, Reddit Co-Founder is a post from: The Inquisitr

Commentary | In a decision that has frightening implications for the freedom of our nation and our children, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled today that the San Antonio Northside School District could expel sophomore Andrea Hernandez, 15, from the city’s John Jay High for refusing to wear her school identification badge, which is equipped with a RFID tracking device that pinpoints the students location at all times while on school grounds. Ms. Hernandez has the option to either accept the expulsion and attend another school that does not require the device or obey the court’s decision and wear the badge if she wishes to return to her original school.

The judge’s ruling only concerns the young woman’s status as a student while case works its way through the Federal Court System and is not a final decision on the case. The Judge commented that since the school agreed to remove the RFID chip from her school badge, her argument was moot, and she could wear the badge without violating her personal freedom or religious beliefs. Hernandez had been attending John Jay High under a temporary restraining order until today’s decision from the court.

The Texas sophomore was expelled in September, 2012 after the badges were introduced in two San Antonio Schools as part of a pilot program. If the test is successful the school board has stated they intend to introduce the badges at all 112 San Antonio schools. The final program would involve forcing over 100,000 students to wear an RFID equipped badge for every minute of the school day.

While Andrea Hernandez and her parents filed their lawsuit on the grounds of the violation of the student’s religious freedom, the program has far reaching implications for the personal liberty of each and every American student. Prominent legal defense organizations, including the ACLU and the Rutherford Institute, have joined the fight against the San Antonio School Board on this extremely important debate over privacy and individual liberty.

There are several issues involved in this case including the actual reasons for the School board’s desire to impose these freedom choking devices on unwilling students. There is a strong financial incentive behind the use of the device; put simply the schools will receive more State and Federal money for increasing the number of bodies the schools can cram into the classrooms. The people who make this device and their supporters on the School Board claim tracking the student’s every move is the most effective way to increase school attendance and keep government dollars flowing.

Some legislators and school administrators would like to take the program a step further and require students to wear the device no matter where they are during school hours, even if they are at home or off campus. The advocates of the tracking device claim this would allow school truant officers to locate students who cut classes and force them to return to school. It should also be noted that the private company that makes the device stands to make an enormous profit if all 100,000 San Antonio students are ordered by the courts to wear this invasive device.

The ACLU spoke out strongly against the program. Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst for the ACLU stated his organization’s objection to forcing students to wear tracking devices:

“They pose direct privacy problems for students. They also raise the question what are we teaching our children, schools teach not only what they say but by example.”

“Are we creating a generation that is going to be acclimated to that kind of government tracking? Is that really something we want to do in America?”

Even the hacktivist collective Anonymous became involved in protesting the use of tracking devices when a young hacker attacked the San Antonio Northside Independent School District website to protest the expulsion of Ms. Hernandez and the plan to use devices in every San Antonio school. The unidentified hacker sent an email to the press to defend his actions, saying the School Board “is stripping away the privacy of students in your school.”

As the case winds its way through the slow moving American court system, a young student must decide if her personal liberty and religious beliefs must be sacrificed in order to continue her education. More than likely, Ms. Hernandez will already be in college by the time we see a resolution to the case. We can only hope the courts value our individual liberties more than the right of schools to treat our children like lab rats and criminals.

As a parent I will simply say this. I find the use of these devices to be an unconscionable violation of our Constitution and the founding principals of any free society. If my child were ordered to wear one of these devices, I would begin home schooling the very next day.

Our government thinks it is OK to monitor every single email sent in America. They think it is fine to use the NDAA to hold American citizens in military custody indefinitely without the right of trial, legal representation or even the notification of the next of kin. They think we should quietly accept a choice of being molested or irradiated in order to fly while TSA workers rummage through our belongings and steal us blind.

This is not the free America our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles fought for and died to preserve. The time has come for each and every one of us to let our elected officials know we will not tolerate these intrusions on our liberty and vote them out of office when they disregard the will of their constituents. I refuse to become a sheep and let an oppressive government intrude into every aspect of my life and the life of my children. How much more freedom are we willing to surrender before enough is enough?

“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”  How about you, my fellow Americans?

Does The Government Have The Right To Force Our Children To Wear Locator Chips To Attend School is a post from: The Inquisitr

After Anonymous outed an alleged rape and subsequent coverup in Steubenville, Ohio, online reaction to the media released by the hacker collective has prompted local police to launch a website to combat “misinformation” circulating the internet amid the controversy.

Anonymous launched the attack against Steubenville’s Big Red football team under the KnightSec collective, hijacking the website of the team to post a warning and subsequently publicizing details of the case via outlets like Twitter and with videos on YouTube and Vimeo.

In response to the widespread outrage over an alleged coverup and Anonymous’ high-profile activity pursuant to the case, police in Steubenville published a site dealing solely with the allegations members of the team drugged and raped the girl. (Viewable here.)

One of the matters addressed on the new Steubenville rape case website concerns shocking videos circulating the web of boys mocking the girl who had been so viciously assaulted, describing the assault to which she had been allegedly subjected and calling the unconscious female a “whore” among other expletives. Police say:

“Nothing in Ohio’s criminal statutes makes it a crime for someone to ridicule a rape victim on a video or otherwise say horrible things about another person. Further, nothing in the law allows someone who says repugnant things on Twitter, Facebook, or other Internet sites to be criminally charged for such statements.”

The site also says:

“Steubenville Police investigators are caring humans who recoil and are repulsed by many of the things they observe during an investigation. Like detectives in every part of America and the world, they are often frustrated when they emotionally want to hold people accountable for certain detestable behavior but realize that there is no statute that allows a criminal charge to be made.”

The widely-followed Twitter account @YourAnonNews has been updating throughout the day as well, as protests continue in Steubenville, telling followers:

Dear OH Atty Gen: If u help #Steubenville Sheriff Fred “the bookie” Abdalla go after #KnightSec, we’ll go after you. <3, The Entire Internet

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) January 5, 2013

The Internet hates rapists. twitter.com/CassandraRules…

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) January 5, 2013

Below is the original video released by Anonymous and KnightSec that caused the case to go viral and sparked mass outrage.

Anonymous Action Prompts Rape Website From Steubenville Police In An Attempt To Quell Outrage is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Steubenville football team rape case has taken a dark turn after a video leaked by the a hacktivist group allegedly shows high school students laughing about the sexual assault of a young girl.

The video was leaked by a subset of the group Anonymous calling itself “Knight Sec” and shows a teen making jokes about an event that happened on August 22. The video puts a new twist on a case that has rocked a small Ohio football town and been reported around the world.

From The Huffington Post:

“Months later, what exactly happened in Steubenville, Ohio, is still being pieced together. Few witnesses have stepped forward to talk about the parties where the underage girl, who was from a neighboring town, was allegedly transported, assaulted and photographed by athletes from local Steubenville High.”

The New York Times went into further detail of the Steubenville case, documenting how Twitter posts, videos, and photographs from a nightlong set of parties suggested that an unconscious girl was sexually assaulted over the course of hours, and my have even been urinated on.

In the new video, a teen appears to refer to the victim as “deader than” Trayvon Martin,” later saying, “she is so raped her p**s is about as dry as the sun right now.”

Local police responded to the video. Steubenville Police Chief Bill McCafferty released a statement Wednesday saying that the police department has been aware of the video and interviewed the person who made it. The Steubenville rape video has also been turned over to prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney Generals Office.

Two football players, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, have already been charged with rape and kidnapping in the case, though Anonymous wants to see more players brought to justice and claims more than just the two charged were involved.

Anonymous has claimed that there is a coverup in the Steubenville rape case, done in an effort to protect the town’s Big Red football team that has won three state titles since 2006. The Anonymous splinter group Knight Sec even created a website that contains the names of football players who may have seen or participated in the rape.

Here is the video of the teenagers allegedly discussing the Steubenville rape case. It contains graphic language:

Steubenville Rape Case: Video Shows Students Laughing About Alleged Rape is a post from: The Inquisitr

Charlie Chaplin wrote and then gave one of the greatest political speeches ever made 73 years ago.

According to the DailyDot, the speech was given by Chaplin in his film The Great Dictator. This was not only his first real speaking film, it was also his most profitable film.

Chaplin delivered the speech on budget and in front of an unimpressed camera crew. As one of the United Artist studio founders, Chaplin acted as both the film’s producer and director, as well as lead actor.

The original Great Dictator speech was uploaded to YouTube in June of 2006. The original speech has had 4.7 million views and has been used as the basis for countless mashups.

Each of the different mashups have been posted and passed around activist circles with a sometimes cavalier approach to attribution.

The below version of the speech is a mashup of the speech synced with the song “Time” from Inception.

The song lends the speech an appropriate ominous tone.

In 2007, Anonymous and Occupy adopted and passed around this version of the speech, and by doing so it garnered a very impressive 321,916 views.

There have been many versions of the speech, some remixed with contemporary news footage and uploaded as “Message to Humanity.”

John D. Boswell, aka Melodysheep, is the creator of this latest version of the soundtrack. Unfortunately, he was forced to take it off YouTube because of a copyright dispute. However, the track lives on as Track 11 on his album Symphonies for the Soul.

The one to upload the new video accompaniment to Melodysheep’s autotune masterpiece is AnonRoughCoitus … hope you enjoy the video.

Charlie Chaplin’s Autotuned ‘Great Dictator’ Speech [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Steubenville, OH – Anonymous has warned a Steubenville football team that it will release personal information, including names and Social Security numbers, if a public apology is not made for the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Hackers identifying themselves as “KnightSec,” an arm of Anonymous, took down the website of the Steubenville High School Big Red football team last weekend and posted an Anonymous-style warning, complete with Guy Fawkes mask and a computerized voice.

The attack on the football team’s site comes after a New York Times story reported on the alleged gang rape of a drunk 16-year-old girl in Steubenville. According to prosecutors, the girl was gang raped over a period of several hours by a number of star football players. From the Times story:

“[By August 12] some people in and around Steubenville had gotten word that the night of fun on August 11 might have taken a grim turn, and that members of the Steubenville High football team might have been involved. Twitter posts, videos and photographs circulated by some who attended the nightlong set of parties suggested that an unconscious girl had been sexually assaulted over several hours while others watched. She even might have been urinated on.”

Two 16-year-old Big Red players, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, have since been arrested on charges that they raped the girl. Both teens will attend a hearing in February. However, many in the close-knit Steubenville community have defended the players, and claim the rape victim is attempting to bring down their beloved team.

There’s little doubt about which side KnightSec, and by extension Anonymous, is taking in the matter. The notice left by hackers on the Big Red site stated:

“The town of Steubenville has been good at keeping this quiet and their star football team protected.”

A notice on the team’s site now reads:

“As you are probably aware, this web site was recently hacked into illegally numerous times by a terrorist group. The outrageous claims they made while controlling this site were totally false, completely absurd, and totally unfounded. They were clearly both libelous and slanderous, and were not even intended to reveal truth, but rather simply to get media attention and terrorize the Steubenville community. Innocent people have been greatly harmed.”

You can watch the warning issued by Anonymous to the Steubenville football team in the clip below:

[Image via Shutterstock]

Anonymous Hits Steubenville Football Team, Demands Apology For Gang Rape is a post from: The Inquisitr

Surviving students of the Newtown school massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary are being relocated to a new school, but volunteers are going out of their way to make it feel like “home”. The walls have been painted green and white (the school colors), desks are being arranged much like the ones they’re used to, and even the same posters are being placed on the walls.

In the past week hundreds of volunteers worked to replicate the school the surviving students came from. Electricians, Locksmiths, plumbers, custodians, experts in security systems, even citizens with paint brushes all volunteered to form an around-the-clock renovation team, which peaked at 500.

Shelley, a Red Slider turtle, the mascot that the students took turns feeding at the original elementary school has also made the trip to Monroe, Connecticut, and into the Library.

Steve Vavrek, Monroe’s first selectman said:

“They’re going to come back, and if little Chaz had a desk near the window, he’ll have the same desk by the window. It’s basically as close to how they left it.”

Newtown officials decided that the Sandy Hook Elementary School students wouldn’t return to the same building after the holidays, but to the former Chalk Hill School, a building that had been months from being named a community center and space for a local theater and ballet.

The new school is about eight miles south of Newtown, states The Hartford Courant.

Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said concerning Sandy Hook’s almost 30 teachers and staff members:

“We’re going to have a lot of support for them. Certainly, if they need more time, they can have more time. But I think many don’t want their children — they own those children — they don’t want them to be with a substitute. So I think most of them are going to try to come back.”

Lieutenant Brian McCauley, Monroe’s public information officer added that many of the contractors preferred to remain anonymous:

“There’s so many people from so many trades and walks of life. These people don’t even know each other, but they’re working like they’ve been partners for a long time.”

The move of an entire school from Newtown to Monroe was about 98 percent done by Thursday afternoon, and expedited by state and local officials. Late Saturday afternoon, eight or nine officials walked the halls and classrooms of Chalk Hill, which had closed a year ago because of declining enrollment and budget problems, Vavrek said according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Monroe will run the outside of the school, and Newtown will take care of the inside, stated Vavrek. The move and renovation won’t cost Newtown.

The one project left to complete is changing the sign out front from “Chalk Hill School” to “Sandy Hook Elementary School.”

Students Of Sandy Hook Elementary Get New School With Familiar Classrooms is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Klu Klux Klan, or the KKK as they are commonly known, thinks the Westboro Baptist Church is way too obnoxious. The KKK is usually not known as the voice of moderation but in this case the KKK felt the Westboro Baptist church had gone too far in making protests at funerals. So the KKK staged a counter-protest. With the Westboro Baptist Church recently threatening to picket the Newtown funerals for the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting victims, this viral video is once again making the rounds.

According to the YouTube video, in May of 2011 the “Klu Klux Klan distanced themselves from the [Westboro Baptist] Church, denouncing them as ‘hatemongers.’” The members of the Westboro Baptist Church were cordoned off, probably for their own protection, and they held signs that read “God Hates You” and “Pray For More Dead Soldiers.” Dennis LaBonte is an “Imperial Wizard” in the KKK and this is what he had to say about the antics of the Westboro Baptist Church:

“Knights of the southern cross, soldiers of the Klu Klux Klan, we are here in protest of the Westboro Baptist Church. I’m a veteran. I’ve spent nine and half years in the military. I’ve got brothers and sisters buried in this cemetery, and I think that it’s an absolute shame that they show up and disrupt the funerals.”

This video has resurfaced after the Westboro Baptist Church threatened to picket the funerals of the shooting victims. Such a threat has not earned any friends with the hack group Anonymous who proceeded to hack the Westboro Church’s servers. Someone calling himself “Cosmo The God” on Twitter has hacked the Westboro Twitter account. But Westboro’s most serious threat is probably an attempt to remove their tax exempt status. After all, those who’ve looked into Westboro’s activities are suspicious that it’s all just one big scam to earn money through lawsuits.

What do you think are the true motivations of the Westboro Baptist Church in staging such hateful protests?

KKK Counter-Protest: Klu Klux Klan Thinks The Westboro Baptist Church Is Obnoxious [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Cosmo the God, the 15 year old genius hacker responsible for some of the most notorious internet hacks of 2012, has just hi-jacked his second Westboro Baptist Church Twitter account in as many days.

On Monday Cosmo hacked the Twitter account of church spokeswoman Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper. The hack was short lived when the account was suspended 24 hours later.

Wired now reports Cosmo has hacked the account of Fred Phelps Jr., the son of church leader Fred Phelps Sr:

“A source with direct knowledge of the attack who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to Wired that Cosmo had in fact taken possession of Fred Phelps Jr.’s Twitter account. Phelps Jr. is the son of church leader, Fred Phelps Sr. Cosmo took over the @WBCFredJR Twitter account via Phelps’ Hotmail account, which he gained entry to by forwarding the password reset phone number on the Hotmail account to the phone number he controlled, according to Wired’s source.”

Cosmo the God, his group UG Nazi, and the hacker collective Anonymous have targeted the Westboro Baptist Church as a hateful organization. The church recently sparked controversy for its decision to protest the funerals of those lost in the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school shooting.

In June Cosmo was arrested for successfully hacking and taking down websites for NASDAQ, CIA.gov, and UFC.com among others. He was sentenced to probation until he turns 21. Clearly he felt strongly enough about the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church to violate his probation.

Here is a video made by Anonymous about the Westboro Baptist Chuch. The video is a word for word reading of an article by Inquisitr journalist Wolff Bachner about the Anonymous war with the infamous Phelps’ family and their church.

Do you think Cosmo the God is justified in his actions or a criminal who should be tried as an adult?

Cosmo The God Takes Over Westboro Baptist Church Twitter Account Of Fred Phelps Jr. is a post from: The Inquisitr

Commentary | Americans are often confronted with a terrible dilemma. We pay huge price for our freedom and sometimes the cost seems almost impossible to bear. Take, for example, the foul mouthed haters of the Westboro Baptist Church, many of whom have high profile jobs with the state of Kansas, complete with extensive protection against termination. They are able to rant and rave on their own time and scream “God Hates Fags” and “Jews Killed Jesus,” and the state of Kansas simply can not fire them for their offensive conduct. They can even get away with picketing the funeral of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and return to work with a self-satisfied smirk on their faces.

Fred Phelps is the founder of the nest of vipers known as the Westboro Baptist Church, and three of his brood work for the state of Kansas. Daughter Margie Phelps is director of re-entry for the Kansas Department of Corrections, and her job is protected by the  Civil Service Act. Fred Phelps Jr., the oldest child, is a staff lawyer with the Kansas Department of Corrections. The youngest child, Abigail Phelps, works for the Topeka Juvenile Correctional Facility, part of the Juvenile Justice Authority.

People across the nation are stunned and outraged that these three specimens of humanity, all members of a group that is known as “America’s most hated family,” actually are in a position of authority over people who are in the criminal justice system, especially juveniles.

The concerns of Americans over these three charmers feeds right into their agenda. They live to provoke outrage and hopefully push enough buttons that someone will lose their cool and over-react. Then the Phelps team puts their ace in the hole to work and sues the crud out of everyone they can. Many of the Phelps family members are lawyers and lawsuits are their meat.

Recently, we came across an amazing article that was written by a journalist who has actually had dealings with the Westboro Baptist Church. Writing under the name, EL_CAMINO_SS, he presents his arguments in a through piece of reporting, titled “Why The Westboro Baptist Church Is A Scam.” We can only wonder if he chose to use an alias in fear of legal harassment by the Westoro Baptist Church’s army of lawyers.

“Here’s the proof. Who in the world makes a poster that says, “Thank God for IEDs” (Improvised Explosive Devices, aka Roadside Bombs). They are saying God is with the terrorists. Then they say God hates you. And homosexuals. Then when they see you looking patriotic with your American flag shirt, they point the sign at you and say, “Americans are going to hell for supporting this country!” and look you in the eye. NOTICE THOUGH, they never say, “You’re going to hell.” (That would give a judge an out to deny them their claim.)”

“Let’s look at the ways he’s trying to get you up in a tizzy to violate his civil rights for profit:”

“He says God Hates Fags, God hates the US Govt., that God hates the US Military, God Hates you, and God justifies the killing of others.”

“Phelps knows that saying ‘God’ and ‘Hate’ in the same sentence gets people worked up. He knows that. He knows that people have a knee jerk reaction to that.”

“He says that the US Govt. and the United States are evil.”

“This is another hot button with people who love their country. It is intentional. It is designed to make you take a swing at him. He wants $50,000 from you. He wants a Powerball winner to swing at him so he gets 100 million dollars. It’s that simple.’

“He goes after homosexuals, he goes after people who are making sacrifices. Phelps intentionally targets people that are being victimized, or good people doing their jobs to create more outrage. He kicks people when they’re down. He does that so someone will come up and defend them. Then he will sue you.”

“His boards are laminated on hardwood, because he pulls them out of trucks at least five times a week. He also puts them in bright colors for attention, and makes absolutely sure that you can read them at all time. He’s phishing you. Everyone must know that.”

By now you may be asking, “How the hell do this litigious hate mongers get away with this and even manage to remained employed by the state of Kansas?” The answer is simple and it will probably shock you. The Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Like everyone else in America, they have freedom of speech.

Of course, as lawyers, the Phelps family knows the rules better than most people, and they know exactly what they can get away with, especially in the workplace. The United States does not place limits on the speech of public employees when they are outside the workplace, and, as long as the Phelps do not promote their beliefs at work, they are 100 percent free to say whatever they wish on their own time.

Marge Phelps spelled out her position with the precision of a well-practiced lawyer:

“There is no inconsistency in my comfortably working with anyone, no matter his or her lifestyle, while at the same time taking a public stand against this nation’s moral decline.”

Before Kathleen Sebelius resigned to become Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama Administration, she was governor of Kansas. During her term of office, she was repeatedly questioned by angry citizens as to why she permitted the Phelps family to work for her government. Her spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, explained the situation:

“Almost certainly termination of an unclassified employee for speech engaged in outside of work would be very problematic.”

In plain English, unless a state employee violates the law, performs their duties below contractual standards, or engages in improper conduct on the job, they are virtually impossible to fire. The Phelps family knows the rules, they walk the tightrope like the Flying Wallendas ,and they have manged to retain their jobs despite mountains of mail demanding their scalps.

As the Bard once said, “There’s the rub.” For many years, the Westboro Baptist Church has engaged in what the European Union defines as hate speech, and, because of our Constitution, they get away with it. They rejoice and gloat in the knowledge that they are able to use our most sacred Freedoms against us to spread their message of ugliness and death. They want to upset you, and they hope you will be angry enough to take a swing at them. If you do, you will end up in prison, and the lovely Phelps family will own your home and control your bank account when they are done with the lawsuits.

There is only one solution and it is what the Phelps family fears the most. IGNORE THE BUMS. Let them rant and rave and go about your life with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. It may not matter much longer anyway. The good folks from Anonymous have declared war on the Westboro Baptist Church and I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the Phelps family with an army of determined Hactivists on my case.

Let us close with the words of Anonymous and strike a blow for freedom and kindness in a loving world:

“We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming.”

Westboro Baptist Church Members Work For Kansas State Govt. With Extensive Protection Against Firing is a post from: The Inquisitr

Commentary | With many people understandably upset that Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre and sing praises to God that children were killed, it is hard not to cheer for Anonymous in their latest battle against the “church.”

As The Inquisitr previously reported, the hacktivist group began the latest battle on Saturday when they sent out an updated list of the names and addresses of church members. They later released a video, right before hacking the church’s website, in which they said:

“We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming.”

And come they did. Using the Twitter accounts @YourAnonNews, @LulzExecutive, @Shm00pLOL, and others, they posted sensitive information about Westboro Baptist Church members. The information included social security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and even the family tree (i.e. how the members are connected to each other).

The groups also taunted Westboro Baptist Church members with the information they uncovered. While, again, it is difficult not to cheer for the groups as they work together to bring down a “church” that preaches hate to the world, it also begs the question on what information is too much to disclose.

Is it morally okay for a group to disclose sensitive information (such as a social security number) about a person, even if the person is, arguably, as deplorable as members of the WBC? It certainly is illegal, as each stolen social security number can cost five years in prison. Members of all groups understand too well what it means to be caught with the information. Former Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown was just charged with stealing sensitive information — including credit card numbers.

In this case, however, with a group that spreads only hate-filled messages, it is possible we can overlook the laws that Anonymous and others are breaking as they work to bring down Westboro Baptist Church. Below are a collection of tweets from the groups’ exploits so far on Saturday:

LOL, BRB GETTING A PORSCHE UNDER FRED W PHELPS pastee.org/jwgxr #D0X #SSN

— Shm00p (@Shm00pLOL) December 16, 2012

@youranonnews @shm00plol Here’s the whole #dox on #wbc –> pastebin.com/pCTSgLTJ

— #ɐuouʎɯons☮ (@MyAnonPage) December 16, 2012

Westboro Baptist Church all your base are belong to us. #Anonymous

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) December 16, 2012

Word has it that @dearshirley‘s desktop pic has been changed to gay porn. #GodHatesWBC

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) December 16, 2012

Damn it!!! My favorite site, godhatesfags.com seems down… #OpWBC

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) December 16, 2012

Sometimes steps must be taken outside of the law so that justice can be dealt.

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) December 16, 2012

Do you think that Anonymous and other hackers are going too far in their war against Westboro Baptist Church or is this hacktivisim at its finest?

Hackers Continue Assault On Westboro Baptist Church, Release Social Security Numbers is a post from: The Inquisitr

A key member of the infamous “Anonymous” hacking group that carried out cyber attacks on Paypal and other companies has been convicted.

Christopher Weatherhead, 22, a university student, was described as a core operator in the “distributed denial of service attacks.”

Along with other “Anonymous” members Ashley Rhodes, 28, Peter Gibson, 24, Ashley Rhodes, 28, and Jake Birchall, 18, the four men conspired to bombard websites with messages and requests in what they called “Operation Payback.”

Weatherhead — who used the alias “Nerdo” online — was convicted on one count of conspiracy to impair the operation of computers under the Criminal Law Act 1977.

“Anonymous” originally targeted the music industry over its anti-piracy stance. But the group changed focus after the backlash against Wikileaks and its co-founder Julian Assange following Wikileaks’ release of classified data in December 2010.

In total, “Anonymous” spent a total of 10 days targeting Paypal, eventually causing losses of £3.5 million ($ 5.6 million).

The UK’s Guardian Online reports that:

“PayPal was attacked after it decided not to process payments on behalf of the Wau Holland Foundation, an organisation involved in raising funds for WikiLeaks.”

The group also went after Visa, Mastercard and the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI). Visitors to the websites of these companies would find themselves directed to a page displaying a message that read:

“You’ve tried to bite the Anonymous hand. You angered the hive and now you are being stung.”

It was revealed in London’s Southwark court that Weatherhead spent up to 10 hours a day online and dreamed of working for Amazon or Google.

Right up until his conviction the 22-year-old denied he played any part in any attacks. Instead, he claimed he was the “communications manager” for “Anonymous” and simply created the online chat rooms where cyber attacks were planned.

Weatherhead told the court that he was only observed when others carried out their attack on the website of the music event promoters Ministry of Sound in October 2010.

“I like the freedom of information that is on the web” Weatherhead told the court. “I enjoy spending a lot of time on Wikipedia reading things. When you can’t get information I feel abashed by that.”

A jury of 11 deliberated for around two hours on Thursday before returning a guilty verdict against Weatherhead for his “integral role” in the attacks. Reportedly when the verdict was read Weatherhead looked at the floor, then at his parents sitting in court.

After informing Weatherhead that he would required to return to court for sentencing in January with his three co-conspirators, presiding Judge Peter Testar said:

“I want to have as much information as possible before deciding what should happen in the case of these four men. think these are serious offences to my mind, and I hope the defendant understands that.”

Weatherhead was freed on bail until next year. He is currently banned from using internet chat forums or posting online using any names but his own.

In addition, he was electronically tagged and ordered to observe a midnight to 4 am curfew at his parents’ home.

Hacker At The Heart Of ‘Anonymous’ Cyber Attacks on Paypal And Amazon Convicted is a post from: The Inquisitr

San Antonio, TX – A 16 year old hacker claiming to be a member of Anonymous hacked the San Antonio Northside Independent School District website to protest the use of student tracking devices in two local schools. The device, which contains an RFID microchip embedded in the student’s identification card, allows school employees to follow every step a student takes while they are on campus.

The unidentified hacker sent an email to defend his actions. He mentioned his age and his affiliation with Anonymous while explaining he hacked the computers because the Northside School District “is stripping away the privacy of students in your school.”

Student tracking devices are currently being tested in the John Jay High School’s Science and Engineering Academy in San Antonio and school officials are considering a proposal to use the device in all San Antonio schools. The district is the fourth largest in Texas with 97,000 students on 112 campuses.

Mandatory tracking of students by electronic devices is considered to be a serious invasion of privacy by many legal scholars and the program has raised a storm of protest. Many parents resent the idea and advocates for personal freedom claim the device opens the door to unlimited surveillance of minors without parental consent or the right to opt out.

Earlier this month, a Latino student,  Andrea Hernandez, 15, was expelled from John Jay High for refusing to wear the device on religious grounds. The student told her principal the device was ‘satanic’ and her family hired a lawyer to sue the school. A local judge issued a temporary restraining order against Northside Independent School District, allowing Hernandez to attend her classes at John Jay until the case is decided.

Jay Stanley, Senior policy analyst for the ACLU discussed the problems with student tracking devices on legal and ethical grounds.

“They pose direct privacy problems for students. They also raise the question what are we teaching our children, schools teach not only what they say but by example.”

“Are we creating a generation that is going to be acclimated to that kind of government tracking? Is that really something we want to do in America?”

Teenage Anonymous Member Protests Student Tracking Devices By Hacking School Computers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jeremy Hammond is an alleged member of LulzSec, a hacker group that is part of the hacktivist collective Anonymous. He is accused of hacking the servers of Strategic Forecasting and collecting thousands of emails, credit card numbers and sensitive information about the intelligence firm’s customers. Hammond is currently being held without bail and he is facing 360 months to life in prison if convicted on all the charges filed by the Federal government.

Supporters of Hammond are incensed over several issues concerning the case. The Chicago resident has already been held for eight months without bail and he will not appear for trial until sometime next year. There is also a serious question about the impartiality of the judge assigned to the case, Judge Loretta Preska.

Preska is well known as the trial judge in the case of Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse and she heard the plea of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first prisoner from Guantanamo tried in US civilian court. The judge’s husband, Thomas J. Kavaler, was a customer of Strategic Forecasters and his company had valuable files stolen.

According to information released by LulzSec, Kavaler may be eligible for payments from a class action lawsuit in the case and that raises serious questions about Preska’s ability to conduct a fair trial. Strategic Forecasting has already paid out close to two million dollars to clients affected by the security breech.

Anonymous published a press release in support of Hammond and demanding that Preska recuse herself from the case:

“Judge Preska by proxy is a victim of the very crime she intends to judge Jeremy Hammond for. Judge Preska has failed to disclose the fact that her husband is a client of Stratfor and recuse herself from Jeremy’s case, therefore violating multiple sections of Title 28 of the United States Code.”

“Judge Loretta Preska’s impartiality is compromised by her husband’s involvement with Stratfor and a clear prejudice against Hammond exists, as evident by her statements. Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected.”

Hammond was arrested based on information given to the FBI by Hector Xavier Monsegur, a New York hacker and member of LulzSec, who went by the alias of Sabu. Mr. Monsegur had been arrested by the FBI months earlier and his cooperation led to the arrest of several members of LulzSec and Anonymous.

The arrest of Jeremy Hammond took place in March of 2012 after he allegedly uploaded the files from Strategic Forecasting, also known as Stratfor, to a honey pot server maintained by the FBI. The government also alleges that Hammond admitted to stealing Stratfor’s data in online chats with their informant.

At last week’s bail hearing Hammond was denied bail as a flight risk and a danger to the community. The defendant has never been issued a passport and he was recently added to the Terrorist Watch List, according to Sue Crabtree, a member of the Jeremy Hammond Solidarity Network and a spectator at his bail hearing.

“In the end, Jeremy was denied bail because he was deemed a flight risk and more dangerous than [a] sexual predator. And yes, if you are asking yourself if this was said, it was said. Jeremy’s legal team stated they would appeal this denial of bail.”

Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said the denial of bail is “very disturbing” and “legally wrong.”

“The bigger story is what they’ve done in this country to Jeremy Hammond, Bradley Manning, and what they have proposed to do to Julian Assange, and that’s really say that they’re going to come down as heavily as they can on people who expose government secrets, whistleblowers.”

Anonymous Hacker Faces Life In Prison For Hacking Private Intelligence Company is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Israeli website Groupon.co.il was hacked today by a team of Pakistani hackers.  The hackers are waging a cyber war against Israel for their airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.  The hackers, who are loosely affiliated with famed hacker group Anonymous, say they are going to take down thousands of Israeli sites until the confrontation is over.

The group calling themselves [!]Strucked by 1337 | H4x0rL1f3 | ZombiE_KsA | Invectus managed to get a horribly antisemitic message up for the Israeli population to see.

See below for the message left on the Israeli Groupon Homepage.

[!]Strucked by 1337 | H4x0rL1f3 | ZombiE_KsA | Invectus

The Notorious Hackers are Back

You Must have Heard about me on news, headlines, Gov. charges, blogs, blah blah

YES, ISRAEL MOFOS got STAMPED by PAKISTANI LEETS.

Why we have wasted our time to Roast your f**king Ass ?

Just because let us convey our message

I am writing on the behalf of all Pakistani and all Muslims

DAMN you ISREAL

So, what you reap from that war except the destruction and devastation of your life !!
You only made a palestinian generation more stronger, more ruthless and more valor!

Because you are mentally retarded people because you do not learn from your mistakes,
and from mistakes of those who preceded you of your pigs!

Your war on Gaza will make you cry blood and let the next few days prove that to you ! ….

And let know that the possible options before the Zionist soldier entered Gaza are four options, no more!

1- Either will be killed 2- or will be captivated 3- or will be handicapped 4- or will be mentally ill

~ Our last words to all fucking Israelis and fucking Jews !! ~

We Muslims are people who love to drink bloods. And we learn that the taste of your blood is delicious !! We swear by ALLAH,
we will come to you like hungry lions, cut your bodies, roast your Asses, and rip what remaining of you. But who fall in our hands of your soldiers, we will throw him to our children to play him as a hungry cat.

BIG F**K Goes to your Fucking Spokesman !!  ”The ministry’s computer division will continue to block the millions of cyber attacks,” Steinitz said. “We are enjoying the fruits of our investment in recent years in developing computerized defence systems.”

LMAO ? You Enjoyed huh ? F**K U ISRAEL and F**K your those lamers Security Administrators !!

Pakistani Hackers Take Down Israeli Groupon, Leave Anti-Semitic Message is a post from: The Inquisitr

The latest fighting between Israel and the terrorists of Gaza is exposing the Jewish State to many threats. There are, of course, the rockets that have already killed three Israelis and forced over a million civilians into bomb shelters, but less spectacular attacks are also causing problems for the tiny Middle Eastern nation. The hacker group Anonymous decided to get into the act and show their support for Gaza by defacing thousands of Israeli websites. Now a much more serious threat has surfaced with the news that unknown hackers with suspected terrorist ties successfully accessed the computers of the Israeli Police Department.

The hackers were able to infect the Police Department computers with virus containing a trojan, and authorities believe they were attempting to mine data from classified police files. Apparently, the hackers used an email to enter the network, and experts fear it may have taken as long as a week before anyone realized something was wrong.

Unbelievably, the network was compromised by an email sent from bennygantz59@gmail.com. Anyone receiving the message should have realized the IDF Chief Of Staff would not be sending an official communication via Gmail, and they certainly should not have opened the attached RAR file containing the virus and trojan. Standard security protocols were ignored, and a high level network was violated.

Perhaps it was the relative simplicity of the method that lead to success, but the results are frightening. There are undoubtedly many top secret documents in the Israeli Police Department’s computer files. It is entirely possible that the identities of undercover police officers, informers, and collaborators, who were working to identify terrorists in Gaza, are now known to Hamas. While Israeli officials are not talking, for obvious reasons, one can only wonder how many operations to track down missiles launch sites, or weapons storage facilities, may have been exposed.

Computer security experts have been warning governments about the use of Cyber Warfare by less affluent nations to level the playing field. It takes hundreds of billions of dollars to build a modern Army, Navy, and Air Force and hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight a major war. A small country can utilize the talents of a few computer wizards on high powered laptops to break into a network and steal battle plans, reveal the names of enemy agents, and even launch computer controlled weapons at the wrong targets. Its warfare on the cheap, and it is potentially lethal.

Reflecting on the possible damage done to the nation of Israel in this latest engagement on the cyber battlefield, Roni Bachar, head of Avnet Security, was blunt in his assessment of who was responsible for the attack on the Police Department computers:

“At this point, I think we can be fairly certain that it was sponsored by a nation-state, most likely Iran.”

An Important Note For Our Readers:

Politically motivated hacking is not only a risk to nations and large corporations. There have been dozens of cases of small websites, bloggers, and private individuals who post comments on the web who being hacked for voicing their opinion. There all all sorts of free tools on the internet that can be used to hack a computer, and it does not take a great deal of skill to use them.

If you are someone who enjoys expressing their opinions on the web, you should be sure to protect your computer against those who would exercise a high tech heckler’s veto by hacking your system. Always use an anti-virus program and a firewall; update your operating system and your software regularly; use effective passwords of 12 to 15 characters with uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols; don’t open emails or attachments from strangers; and don’t use pirated software. Be smart, take precautions, and stay safe on the World Wide Web.

Israel Faces Terrorist Hackers In the Gaza Conflict: Israeli Police Computers Hit is a post from: The Inquisitr

The hacktivist group known as “Anonymous” has joined in the Israel/Gaza conflict. Launching #OpIsrael, Anonymous has taken down or defaced at least 700 Israeli websites, though the group claims that they have attacked over 9,000 pages.

Israel’s media confirmed the protest against Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza, which involved the seizure and shut-down of various websites. Anonymous reportedly hit sites ranging from high-profile governmental structures such as the Foreign Ministry to local tourism companies’ pages.

The biggest attack has been on the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s international development program, titled Mashav. Anonymous announced on Twitter that they hacked into the database, rendering the site inaccessible.

The Jerusalem Post confirmed the attacks, which include the Foreign Ministry’s website, those of Kadima party, Bank of Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv Municipality, which provides residents with directions to bomb shelters. A majority of the pages taken down were either blank, or showed pro-Palestinian images and messages.

“This attack is in response to the Injustice against the Palestinian people.”

It was reported, however, that most of the 663 pages hit by Anonymous were subdomains of the same site, and many were still online and functioning properly. Furthermore, Anonymous announced on Twitter that they have taken down or defaced over 9,000 websites:

Yes, over 9,000 websites are down or defaced right now for #OpIsrael. RT @shaved_llama: @youranonnews ITS OVER 9000!

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 17, 2012

For the internet-impaired, “over 9,000″ is a reference to this clip from Dragon Ball Z, which has been turned into a popularly referenced meme:

Anonymous has backed Gaza from the very beginning. A press statement from the group released Wednesday read:

“For far too long, Anonymous has stood by with the rest of the world and watched in despair the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people in the so called ‘Occupied Territories’ by the Israel Defense Force.”

However, a post on their website seemed supportive of both the Israeli and Palestinian people, while criticizing the IDF:

“Stop bombing Gaza. Millions of Israelis and Palestinians are lying awake, exposed and terrified.”

What do you think of Anonymous? Should they stay out of the conflict, or are they justified? Sound off below!

‘Anonymous’ Backs Gaza, Takes Down ‘Over 9,000′ Israeli Websites is a post from: The Inquisitr

Remember remember the 5th of November.

A slew of sites attacked by Anonymous in honor of Guy Fawkes day certainly will.

As the blog Shiny Shiny noted, the loosely assembled hacker group went on a series of high-profile cyber attacks bringing down websites across the internet. The protests were done on the anniversary of English revolutionary Guy Fawkes’ failed plan to destroy Parliament.

Anonymous was accused of defacing the NBC website — leaving the message “Remember Remember the 5th of November” — and by the end of the day had also taken credit for publishing sensitive information from PayPal and Symantec.

It turns out that Anonymous didn’t have anything to do with PayPal or Symantec however. The New York Times writes:

“Although Anonymous’s claims went viral on Twitter and were picked up by several media outlets, it appears the attack on PayPal never happened. The 28,000 passwords actually belonged to ZPanel, a free open source hosting site. Anuj Nayar, a PayPal spokesman, said the payments company had been investigating the attack since Sunday night and concluded that there was no evidence any of its data had been breached.

“A hacker who goes by the handle HTP on Twitter took credit for a breach on Symantec and released what HTP claimed were the passwords of Symantec employees on the Web site Pastebin. A number of media outlets attributed that attack to Anonymous, but the hackers denied any affiliation with the group. Mike Bradshaw, a Symantec spokesman, said that the company was still investigating the breach but that there was no evidence that any customer data had been compromised. Mr. Bradshaw did not clarify whether employee data had been compromised.”

Computer experts also expected the “Remember Remember the 5th of November” hacking spree to target Facebook or Zynga. Anonymous has made its animosity with Zynga clear after the company made widescale layoff, but no attacks were reported.

Remember Remember The 5th Of November: Anonymous Goes On Hacking Spree For Guy Fawkes Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hacktivist group Anonymous is planning to attack social network giant Facebook on Monday. The group is rumored to be staging the hacking attempt on Guy Fawkes Day to support more than 1,000 jobs being cut by social gaming network Zynga. The gaming company is one of Facebook’s many profit drivers but has come under increasing performance worries as its social gamers jump ship for other platforms.

Anonymous argues that Zynga still has plenty of cash reserves on hand, enough to keep its employees on the payroll while fighting to regain its market dominance.

The hacking initiative has said it would also hack Zynga games and release them for free download on Monday.

On the Anonymous website the group is calling the plan “operation maZYNGA.” In its typical grandiose fashion, Anonymous says the move to fire its workers will bring about “the end of the US game market as we know it.”

Zynga also claims to have documents from Zynga executives that showcases their greed. However, Wired was quick to point out that the various grammatical errors in the documents likely mean they were not created by highly educated Zynga executives.

Anonymous did not say how they will take down Facebook servers. You may recall that the group claimed it would take down Facebook on November 5 of last year, a day that came and went without so much as a single hiccup to the Facebook infrastructure.

While Facebook earns a decent amount of revenue from Zynga, the social network hardly relies on the social gaming company to pay its bills.

Facebook To Be Targeted By Anonymous On Guy Fawkes Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

The feared hacker confederation, Anonymous, threatened social gaming giant Zynga over what the group calls “outrageous treatment of employees and actions against many developers.” The post on the hacker’s forum announced the launch of Operation maZYNGA against the troubled company. Anonymous revealed the “release of the confidential documents leaked from the executives of Zynga” and warned, “On November the fifth we will release the key to the data files. Remember, Remember the 5TH of November.”

Anonymous provided links to the files they claim contain the documents. (The Inquisitr suggests our readers exercise extreme caution if you choose to download the files.) Hackers from as far away as Great Britain, Greece and Australia said they are joining the efforts against Zynga.

Others posters called for Anonymous to attack Facebook, where many of the Zynga games appear. A few lone voices criticized the hacker group for attacking the company, with one person posting this angry message: “They’re f2p social games you morons…How old are you guys? Women are getting stoned dead in the middle east.”

The hacker group accused Zynga of planning massive layoffs and outsourcing the jobs to Bangalore, India, while hiding “a billion dollars cash…in a bank.” They gave Zynga until November 5th to change their plans or Anonymous will release the confidential documents and give away all of company’s games for free.

Zynga was already facing serious problems before Anonymous made their threat. Zynga’s stock has plummeted and profits are down. Last week, the company laid off five percent of the workforce, closed the Cambridge, Massachusetts office and announced the retirement of 16 games. All future work on the company’s popular title, The Ville, will be done from India.

Many of Zynga’s top executives left the company recently and CEO Mark Pincus is under investigation for possible insider trading. Further complicating life for Mr. Pincus is the pending lawsuit by major publisher, Electronic Arts, over the similarities between the Sims Social and The Ville. Several others companies have also talked about suing Zynga for copying their games.

It appears the threat from Anonymous is serious and the release of the source code for the company’s many games could have a disastrous effect on Zynga’s future. One might wonder if Anonymous realizes that by destroying Zynga they would end up putting thousands of employees out of work. How they will be protecting Zynga’s employees from corporate greed by ruining the company remains to be seen.

Here is the transcript of the entire post on the Anonymous forum. The spelling errors are also courtesy of Anonymous:

“Zynga customers and Facebook users , We are anonymous . During the last few days anonymous has been targeting Zynga for the outrageous treatment of their employees and their actions against many developers.”

“We have come to believe that this actions of Zynga will result in massive layoff of a thousand people and legal actions against everyone that speaks to the public about this plan.”

“It will also come to end of the US game market as we know it as all this jobs will be replaced in other more convenient financial countries.”

“With a billion dollars cash sitting in a bank we do believe that such actions are an insult to the population and the behaviour of corporations like Zynga must change.”

“Anonymous could not allow this to happen so it’s starting to release confidential documents we have leaked on this plan.”

“As we speak we are planning to release also all the games we’ve taken from their servers for free.”

“That being said we will stop the idea of the distribution of such games if Zynga will cease immediately the plan.”

We also include the document Anonymous claims is from Zynga’s private files. Considering the spelling errors, grammatical mistakes and improper capitalization, we leave it to the reader to decide if it is authentic. Of particular interest is the reference to Zynga’s planned involvement with online gaming, which might be illegal for an American owned company under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006:

“Following the preliminary announced of this week the final strategy for the next two quarters has been successfully set to delivery by november 23 an additional but of 800 jobs with further raising of new capital from the market to support businesses.”

“We’ve identified our global gambling strategy with bwin.party and as we speak discussions are progressing with a partner to cover the US market.”

“Work is focused and on-going to completely outsource our development teams in our offices in Bangalore , India to hedge our position in the long term.”

“We’ve identified key new products from third parties such as Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime , Shove Prod and Music Invaders in which we are starting business contacts to buy these IP for transaction value of approximately 20 million.”

“We strongly believe we will conclude these deals this month and compete with this titles against mobile competitors with ease.”

“Our business continues to evolve and we must evolve with it. We operate in a exciting and challenging industry and I am very pleased that our senior leadership team continue to strengthen and develop with us.”

What is your opinion of the threats against Zynga by Anonymous? Do you think their actions will help Zynga’s employees or potentially put thousands of employees out of work?

Anonymous Threatens Zynga Over Treatment Of Employees is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amanda Todd was bullied into suicide after a man posted naked pictures he took while on a video chat, and the web hacker group Anonymous tracked down the man they believed was responsible. Canadian police now say the group got it wrong.

The Amanda Todd case gained international attention within days of the teenager’s suicide in British Columbia, in large part because of the story she had shared on YouTube just weeks before taking her own life. In the video, Todd talked about how after she flashed a stranger on a video chat at age 13, the man threatened to spread the photos to family and friends if she didn’t agree to show him more. When she refused he went through with his threat, leading to bullying in school that brought her into a downward spiral of drugs and depression.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have taken the case seriously, putting close to two dozen officers on the investigation, but in just a few hours the loosely bound hacker group Anonymous believed it had found the right man.

Amanda Todd Investigation: Police Say Anonymous Outed The Wrong Man is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amanda Todd’s tormentor, the man who distributed topless pictures of the then-13 year old girl that led to intense bullying, has allegedly been located by the online hacker group Anonymous.

Todd committed suicide in her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, last week, a month after she posted to YouTube a video chronicling the depths of her bullying. It started when she and some friends were video chatting with a stranger who convinced her to flash her breasts. The man took a screenshot and later returned to demand more private sessions from her. When Todd refused he threatened to send the photo to her family and friends, later following through on the threat.

The backlash from the photo release meant relentless bullying for Amanda Todd, who even had to change schools to escape the torment. But the man showed up again, this time using a Facebook page with her naked photo as a profile picture.

The man was allegedly tracked down by Anonymous, a loosely bound group of hackers who often take up causes via the internet, CBC News reported. Anonymous published the name and address of a Vancouver-area man who they said was preying on Amanda Todd via the internet.

Anonymous published the name and address of a Vancouver-area man that the group claims was bullying and preying on Todd via the internet. The 32-year-old man allegedly made postings to child pornography sites, and since the outing by Anonymous has been threatened by some people vowing to carry out vigilante justice.

“The system isn’t supposed to convict someone before charges are laid. It’s not supposed to be judge, jury and executioner, all in the public forum,” Vancouver defense attorney Eric Gottardi told CBC News. “We have a justice system. It’s supposed to work, it does work.”

Unfortunately for Amanda Todd, she fell victim to a common type of sexual exploitation known as luring, the National Post reported.

“Threats are a very common tactic utilized by individuals in their attempts to extort more information off of the kids,” said Arnason, Signey Arnason, director of cybertip.ca, a tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children.

Amanda Todd’s bullying has still continued, even after her death. Memorial pages dedicated to her memory have been desecrated and some continue to make fun of her by turning her pictures into a meme.

Amanda Todd: Online Activists Allegedly Locate Man Who Distributed Nude Pictures is a post from: The Inquisitr

The computer “hacktivist” collective known only as “Anonymous” has distanced itself from WikiLeaks over criticisms that boss Julian Assange has sold out to fame and celebrity.

A statement posted to the Anonymous Twitter account AnonymousIRC called WikiLeaks “the one man Julian Assange show”after the website started asking users for payment to access millions of leaked documents.

“The idea behind WikiLeaks was to provide the public with information that would otherwise be kept secret by industries and governments. Information we strongly believe the public has a right to know,” said the statement from Anonymous. “But this has been pushed more and more into the background, instead we only hear about Julian Assange, like he had dinner last night with Lady Gaga. That’s great for him but not much of our interest. We are more interested in transparent governments and bringing out documents and information they want to hide from the public.”

Anonymous has long been one of WikiLeaks’ most loyal and vocal supporters, but Assange’s cult-of-personality seems to have gotten in the way of what Anonymous believes is a righteous cause. In the statement, Anonymous told its 285,000 followers that WikiLeaks was an “awesome idea ruined by egos” claiming that the site had abandoned its principles.

“We have been worried about the direction WikiLeaks is going for a while. In the recent month the focus moved away from actual leaks and the fight for freedom of information further and further while it concentrated more and more on Julian Assange. It goes without saying that we oppose any plans of extraditing Julian to the USA. He is a content provider and publisher, not a criminal.”

Without Anonymous at his side, Julian Assange’s support base is rapidly approaching zero.

Anonymous Turns On WikiLeaks, Calls Juian Assange Out On ‘Ego’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

The GoDaddy outage may have been a statement against the company’s support of legislation viewed as a threat to internet freedom, but the attack is having some unintended side effects with the small businesses that make up GoDaddy.com’s client base.

The attack that caused the GoDaddy outage was reportedly the result of the hacker group “Anonymous,” which sent a tweet taking credit for it, CNET reported. This has not been confirmed, as a different Twitter account associated with Anonymous claimed that the initial tweet was just opportunistic and the group actually had nothing to do with the GoDaddy outage.

Most of the five million websites hosted by GoDaddy belong to small businesses, the Christian Science Monitor reported. Many of these companies, including Japanese accessory seller MixForSale.com and video sharing site YouWatch.org, took to Twitter to complain about the GoDaddy outage.

The Christian Science Monitor found many small business owners impacted by the GoDaddy outage. Catherine Grison, an interior designer in San Francisco and owner of YourFrenchAccent.com, said the outage left her unable to link to her online gallery because of the outage.

“If I have no visuals I have nothing left except the accent,” said Grison, a Paris native.

The GoDaddy outage began at around 1:25 pm EDT, a company spokeswoman said. The site was back up by 5:42 pm EDT, the company noted. It has become a target for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Critics said this copyright bill would be the equivalent of censorship and would stifle innovation on the internet.

GoDaddy Outage Putting A Hurt On Small Businesses is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tampa, FL – Police officers confiscated bricks, pipes and other “suspicious” items from a rooftop near the Republican National Convention site in Tampa. Police Chief Jane Castor feels the bricks, pipes and other items were placed on the roof near the GOP convention for use by protestors, according to Fox 13 News. The Tampa police chief also noted that RNC convention related graffiti was also painted onto the building near where Mitt Romney would be speaking, but declined to elaborate further.

The anti-Romney images and messages near the Tampa GOP convention were signed with the now infamous “Anonymous” logo, according to The Blaze. A YouTube video credited to Anonymous tells viewers not to be afraid of the “black bloc” and encourages supporters to come to the Republican National Committee convention and “take a stand” against corporate America.

“It is disconcerting but it’s not surprising. This is normally how things proceed leading up to a large event,” Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor stated during an interview with Fox 13 News.

Tampa police reportedly studied protest scenarios from other political events in preparation for the August 27-30 GOP convention. During the 2008 RNC convention in St. Paul a group of protestors punctured car tires, smashed in windows and threw bottles at police officers and journalists, The Blaze relates. Tampa Police Chief Castor is reportedly determined not to have a repeat of the St. Paul destruction during the upcoming presidential convention in Florida.

Over the course of the past two weeks the downtown Tampa area has morphed from a typical Florida vacation hotspot into what police officers reportedly hope is an ultra-secure presidential convention area. Barricades, gates and some boarding-up of windows have already occurred in preparation for the GOP convention.

Tampa police reportedly feel the multiple local, state and federal buildings which surround the RNC convention site may be targeted by protesters. Tampa police officers hosted meetings with protest groups and the American Civil Liberties Union during the Republican convention planning stages to share information about designed protest areas along parade routes and near the convention building; but few organizations reportedly attended.

Tampa Police Discover Pipes And Bricks Stashed On A Roof Near GOP Convention Building is a post from: The Inquisitr

Eerie Neo-Nazi flash mobs in Germany have sparked international interest lately as the anonymous group’s demonstrations go viral and echo the terrifying fascist torch rallies of the 1930s.

A May 1 demonstration in Bauzen, Germany saw hundreds of figures clad in black clothing and creepy white masks converge suddenly in a street carrying torches and signs with extremist slogans, only to break up and disappear before law enforcement authorities could arrive, reports German newspaper Die Zeit. According to the New York Daily News, the flash mobs are of particular interest to German history buffs, who compare the eerie demonstrations to the days of the Third Reich during which the Nazi SA would march with torches in the night, saluting Hitler.

The group calls themselves ‘Die Unsterblichen,’ German for ‘The Immortals,’ and have been organizing these flash mobs in German cities over the past several months. Videos of the group’s protests have gone viral on YouTube, documenting the creepy spontaneous protests, reports CNN. The videos call on tens of thousands of viewers to “make your short life immortal, so that those to come don’t forget that you were German.”

The Neo-Nazi group shows cunning and sophistication in their organization, putting together these flash mobs via text message so that no one (including authorities) know when or where they are liable to turn up. The group has also adopted a dated slogan, “Volkstod,” for their signs, a term used by Neo-Nazis to describe the perceived degradation of the German people under a Democratic system. Law enforcement officials have raided the homes of dozens of Neo-Nazis in an effort to find some kind of central leadership, though haven’t come up with anything yet, prompting some to wonder whether there is any sort of organized chain-of-command.

Dr. Hajo Funke, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, believes that the group’s tactics are meant to attract youth to their cause.

“It’s a very simple idea,” he told CNN. “Put masks on your faces and represent the danger to the people.”

Here are some photos of the Neo-Nazi flash mobs, followed by a video report on the group’s methods.

Meet The Immortals: Eerie Neo-Nazi Flash Mobs Plague Germany, Have No Central Leadership is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hacktivist group Anonymous on Monday announced that it had stolen more than 1,000 email credentials from employees at five multinational oil companies including Shell, Exxon and BP. The group then took those email credentials and dumped them online.

Also targeted in the attack were Russian oil firms Gazprom and Rosneft. Anonymous claims the attack was instituted because those firms are responsible for a bulk of the melting Arctic ice caps.

Included in the data dump were 317 emails and their MD5 hashed passwords which were grabbed during a previous hack in June. 26 emails dumped online also included clear text passwords.

The information collected during the most recent breach is encrypted and the information was posted online in the hopes that hacktivist members with some free time on their hands will crack the details and provide passwords for the email addresses.

The email addresses were used to add new signatures to the Save The Arctic and the hacker @le4ky admitted that the information fell into the hands of several phishing schemes.

The hack was completed from shell domains and sub-domains where technicians at the company used poor web management tools to protect user data. Based on the simple methodology used to grab the company’s information which required very little hacking expertise it is likely the oil company’s will work to better secure their web presence in the immediate future.

Hacking activities have picked up over the last week, in the last seven days data from Nvida, Formspring, Yahoo! Voices and Billabong have been posted online.

‘Anonymous’ Attacks Shell, Exxon And BP Over Melting Polar Caps is a post from: The Inquisitr

Two New York lawmakers are looking to ban anonymous comments from the Internet forever, officially changing the Internet multi-persona “Anonymous” into something else entirely – “Outlaw”.

According to Wired, the proposed legislation in both chambers would require websites based in New York (public online news websites and even simple, personal blogs) to “remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post.”

“This statute would essentially destroy the ability to speak anonymously online on sites in New York,” said Kevin Bankston, an attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology. He added that the legislation gives a “heckler’s veto to anybody who disagrees with or doesn’t like what an anonymous poster said.” Of course, the Internet is already in an uproar, with Above the Law opining, “I’m not even mad. I’m just impressed that a group of state legislators managed to draft this with a straight face,” and posting this rather funny picture:

Like most proposed laws that completely ignore the First Amendment, this legislation was born of good intentions. Republican Assemblyman Jim Conte says it’s meant to cut down on “mean-spirited and baseless political attacks” and “turns the spotlight on cyberbullies by forcing them to reveal their identity.” But what is the old saying? The road to hell is paved with good intentions? And as we’ve learned time and time again, when you try to mess with the First Amendment, that’s exactly what you get – hell. Arbitrary hell.

Thus far, there hasn’t been any voting on the legislation, and honestly? It doesn’t stand a chance.

Commentary: Take a look at that picture. That statement is the religious creed of the Internet. It’s a sacred text. It allows me to do what I’m doing here, and you to write horrible things about it underneath.

It’s why, despite lawmakers’ “good intentions”, this kind of legislation never gets anywhere. The First Amendment isn’t frosting on top of the milkshake that is Internet culture. It’s the very foundation, and without it, the Internet would cease to exist as we know it.

So buck up, Internet. Let’s have a laugh at the silly lawmakers together.

By the way, Mr. Conte, if anything I said in this article falls under “baseless political attacks,” you can quote me on it. My name is Dusten Carlson.

New York Law Could Ban Anonymous Comments Online is a post from: The Inquisitr

International hacktivist group Anonymous on Thursday claimed responsibility for a successful hack attempt that took down several governmental websites in China. The group claims that its efforts were to protest Internet censorship laws throughout the country.

The official Anonymous China Twitter account was quick to claim victory over China’s government, claiming that the hacks took several days to complete and included several Chinese cities, including the provincial capital of Chengdu in southwest China.

While some sites were quickly restored others remained offline through Thursday morning.

In a funny turn of censorship the Chinese government attempted to tell its citizens that the sites were never hacked although China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team would not comment on the situation.

Anonymous is best known for attacking government agencies, businesses and political causes they believe are infringing on their rights to information.

While the Chine’s government claims no hacks occurred the Chinese site cdcbd.gov.cn had a hacked message placed on its frontpage in which Anonymous expressed anger over the countries governmental restrictions on the internet. The message read:

“Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall,” and “What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. With no mercy.”

The message also came with instructions on how to bypass China’s restrictions on its Internet.

Social networks, political websites opposing the Chinese government, adult oriented websites and various other web properties are currently blocked in China.

Anonymous Hacks Governmental Websites In China is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hacktivist group Anonymous took retaliation against “corruption in the Roman Catholic Church” by taking down the Vatican website on Wednesday morning.

Still inaccessible on Wednesday evening a spokesman would not confirm that that hacker group was responsible for the attack.

On an Italian-language website Anonymous accused the Catholic Church of being responsible for various misdeeds throughout history including the burning of heretics during the inquisition. In their statement the group noted:

“Anonymous decided today to besiege your site in response to the doctrine, to the liturgies, to the absurd and anachronistic concepts that your for-profit organisation spreads around the world.”

The went on to add:

“This attack is not against the Christian religion or the faithful around the world but against the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church.”

Anonymous is also upset about the churches interference in Italian affairs.

It’s still unclear how the group hacked the Vatican website, a favorite method is to utilize thousands of hacktivist members computers to create “denial of service” attacks in which they literally flood the site with so many visitors that it crashes.

The attack against the Vatican comes just one day after the FBI charged one man with being a member of Anonymous and four people for being principal members of hacking collective LulzSec. Dozens of Anonymous and LulzSec members have been arrested since the FBI became involved in a global effort to find, arrest and try hackers from the group.

Do you think the Vatican website deserved to be shut down based on “atrocities of the past” or should Anonymous attack businesses and leave religious organizations alone to practice in peace?

Vatican Website Hacked By Anonymous is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you think only conspiracy theorists believe that the body of Osama Bin Laden was spirited away for God knows where instead of being tossed off a military ship into the drink, a new Wikileaks post might be of interest to you.

As the internet has become more common in our day-to-day information seeking lives, conspiracy theories have spread more easily- but so too has skepticism about anything other than the official story given. Words like “truthers” (the people who don’t believe the official version of September 11th) and “birthers” (people who think that President Obama was either born in Kenya or Hawaii when it wasn’t a state) are in and of themselves pretty strong epithets now, so marginalized has some forms of doubt become. (Which is not to say a strong level of skepticism isn’t warranted when handling internet rumors- check Snopes first, kids!)

But even the most skeptical skeptic of conspiracy theories knew the official account of the death of Osama Bin Laden would come under fire given that by the time the announcement of his death was made by the President late on a Sunday night, his corpse had already been spirited away into the ocean for a watery internment… or so they want you to believe. (Kidding, this is all speculation at this point.)

Complicating matters was the fact that many members of Seal Team 6, the elite group that went after Bin Laden once intelligence was received, died in August in Kabul when their helicopter was shot down. It is worth noting that none of the soldiers from the Bin Laden raid from Seal Team 6 died in the tragedy, internet rumors still went into overdrive.

But the doubt cast upon the story of Bin Laden’s burial-at-sea got its strongest boost this week when the leaked Stratfor emails revealed that the firm’s vice-president for intelligence Fred Burton believes that the assassinated Al Qaeda mastermind’s corpse was actually whisked away to several points in the US for undetermined reasons. Stratfor- nicknamed the “Shadow CIA” by some- suffered massive embarrassment when their email database was hacked by Anons, and emails like this one illustrate why that’s such a shameful blow to the firm.

RT excerpted the mails:

Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, believes the body was “bound for Dover, [Delaware] on [a] CIA plane” and then “onward to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda [Maryland]… If body dumped at sea, which I doubt, the touch is very Adolph Eichman like. The Tribe did the same thing with the Nazi’s ashes.”

The site adds:

Eichman was one of the masterminds of the Holocaust by Nazi Germany. He was captured by Mossad agents in Argentina and, tried in Israel, found guilty and executed in 1962. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea over the Mediterranean.

Stratfor CEO George Friedman then contrasts Nazi war criminal’s fate with that of Osama Bin Laden in a reply:

“Eichmann was seen alive for many months on trial before being sentenced to death and executed. No one wanted a monument to him so they cremated him. But i dont know anyone who claimed he wasnt eicjhman [sic]. No comparison with suddenly burying him at sea without any chance to view him which i doubt happened [sic],” Stratfor CEO George Friedman replied.

You can read the full piece here- do you doubt the official account of the death and burial of Osama Bin Laden?

Bin Laden Buried at Sea? Stratfor Emails Cast Doubt on Official Tale is a post from: The Inquisitr