10 facts about "Anonymus", about which everyone should know

Ten years ago, the mention of "Anonymus" would cause only bewilderment. Today this group of cyber-activists dominates the world news and attracts the attention of many state and international human rights organizations and the interest of millions of people.

"Anonymus" fights against injustice, avoiding violence, and reveals the truth that, in their opinion, the public should know. However, in the history of this group, not everything has always been so black and white and smooth. These facts confirm that any revolution can be a medal on two sides.

"Anonymus" is not an organized group

The history of "Anonymus" began on the pages of the site 4chan. To ensure that all participants in the dialog in the / b / equality branch, each participant received the same name anonymous (anonymous). From there grew a subculture that shares values, worldview, a thirst for justice and a desire to destroy the status quo. Today these are the people who call themselves "Anonymus".

This is not an organization, the group does not have a leader, which is why the "Anonymus" logo is a man without a head. The group does not have rules of conduct, main office or any kind of infrastructure. People from different countries, cultures, faiths, any gender and age come and go when and how they like.

Anyone can join

If you want to join the group, no one will check or stop you. However, those who seriously think about this, the site AnonInsiders advises first to join the ranks of activists operating within the law. If the illegal activity does not scare you, the site explains in detail how best to protect your computer, providing maximum security, and how to get in touch with the representatives of the group using a pseudonym and a protected IRC. You will have to prove your loyalty for a long time before the group takes you seriously.

What do beginners do?

Once you have created your cyber personality in a safe space and established relationships with other members of the group, you can safely join one or more of the group's activist activities, for example, fighting the Church of Scientology. "Anonymus" regularly conducts DDoS attacks using a program called LOIC ("Low-orbital ion gun"). This program allows your computer to become part of a botnet for an intentional DDoS attack.

Not all the Anonymus participants are hackers

Among the huge number of "anonymus" elite hackers, capable of conducting system attacks, are only a few. Such a large number of participants need the group in order to carry out successful DDoS attacks. In fact, these attacks are a form of protest similar to Occupy Wall Street, only in the digital space. Just like some members of Occupy, members of the group often find themselves behind bars or have to pay fines.

The use of the "Ion gun" is unsafe

It is perfectly legal to declare your membership in "Anonymus" and it is perfectly safe to communicate in protected chat rooms, however, the use of the LOIC program can lead to a dock.

In 2008, the DDoS attack on the official portal of the Church of Scientologists led to several arrests and fines of $ 20,000. It turns out that the ill-conceived use of the "Ion Gun" can be traced, and a massive attack relieves not everyone of responsibility.

Piracy

In September 2010, the Indian company Aiplex Software used the tactics of "Anonymus" to conduct DDoS attacks on sites that distribute copyrighted content. The company worked on behalf of representatives of record companies and film companies.

"Anonymus" did not appreciate the jokes and aimed his "ion gun" on the sites of the American Association of Recording Companies and the American Film Companies Association. However, these companies were aware of a possible attack and took protective measures. As a result, sites such as PirateBay were out of the access zone for about 537 hours, and Anonymus promised to take revenge.

Zombie botnets

In November 2010, the WikiLeaks website began publishing classified diplomatic messages, and the US government decided to stop the publication by any possible means. With threats and litigation, it forced financial institutions, including PayPal, to interrupt the WikiLeaks service. "Anonymus" stood up for the protection of the site and declared war on PayPal and other financial institutions, "bent" under US pressure.

In early December, "Anonymus" conducted an attack on the main page of the service, but enhanced protection allowed the site to survive. Activists did not have enough computers to launch the attack successfully. As a result, two of the main hackers of the group with the help of the virus have established control over a huge number of computers, whose owners did not even suspect about using their technology. These "zombie computers" formed a powerful botnet and "demolished" the main page of the PayPal service. According to the representative of the company, the attack cost the service five and a half million dollars.

Confrontation of hackers

After widespread use of zombie botnets, a group of hackers broke away from Anonymus, forming an exclusive group of LulzSec, which returned to the original course of the movement and aimed at hacker attacks, causing maximum inconvenience and chaos. The leader of the group was known under the pseudonym Sabu.

After LulzSec broke in and published Fox's personal data, and also published on the PBS news portal the fictional news that Tupac and Biggie were not killed and now live together in New Zealand, their activity has become even more provocative. Hackers hacked several porn sites and posted on the general overview of personal data about 30 thousand subscribers.

The crimes of the LulzSec group against ordinary Internet users aroused resentment among the hacker community and led to the fact that other groups and individuals promised to disclose the identity of Sabu and his comrades in retaliation for obscene behavior. It turned out that under the pseudonym Sabu there was a certain Hector Xavier Monsegur, 28, living in New York.

Traitor

Hector Moncegur turned out to be an unemployed guardian of his cousins, who had no more relatives. Under the threat of prolonged imprisonment, Monsegur agreed to become an informant to the FBI and promised to help the agency not only find and imprison its fellow hackers, but also actively participate in ongoing cyber operations.

In December 2011, a member of the LulzSec group, Jeremy Hammond, hacked one of the intelligence organizations, stealing information about confidential correspondence and credit card data of employees. Hector Monsegur promised to find a secure server for storing stolen information. The server was under the FBI office.

The arrests

The FBI did not want to stop at the capture of members of LulzSec and tried to arrange the sale of stolen data to WikiLeaks representatives in order to catch and condemn the founder of the site Julian Assange.

However, Hammond began to suspect the setup, since the attack was too simple, and the data unprotected. Jeremy Hammond "drained" the network of all the stolen files, depriving the FBI of the opportunity to carry out the transaction. Left without Assange, the frustrated FBI accused Hammond of crimes against the state. As a result, the hacker received the maximum penalty and sits in prison his 10-year sentence.