Anonymous Strikes U.S. Government Websites…Again
- Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:27am by
Liz Klimas
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The hacking group known as Anonymous seems to be continuing its trend of hacking U.S. government websites on Fridays. It has claimed a new series of hacks against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and consumer rights websites.
The loosely organized collection of cyber rebels said it attacked the FTC’s consumer protection business center, consumer.gov, and the National Consumer Protection Week website. Both sites were replaced with a violent German-language video (see below) satirizing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA. As of this posting, both the sites appeared to be down.
Anonymous tweets about most recent hack.
ACTA was recently signed by several countries, but restrictions on online piracy have prompted a growing protest movement.
(Related: Polish members of European Parliament support Anonymous by wearing Guy Fawkes masks)
A call by the Associated Press to the Trade Commission rang unanswered before business hours Friday. An email seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Watch the satirical video about ACTA (Warning: Graphic Content):
International Business Times has more from Anonymous’ statement on the attack:
“Even more bothersome than your complete lack of competence in maintaining your own f*****g websites and serving the citizens you are supposed to be protecting, is the US federal government’s support of ACTA. You really want to empower copyright holders to demand that users who violate IP rights (with no legal process) have their Internet connections terminated? You really want to allow a country with an oppressive Internet censorship regime to demand under the treaty that an ISP in another country remove site content? Well, we have a critical warning for you, and we suggest you read the next few paragraphs very, very closely.”
The statement continues:
“If ACTA is signed by all participating negotiating countries, you can rest assured that Antisec will bring a f*****g mega-uber-awesome war that rain torrential hellfire down on all enemies of free speech, privacy and internet freedom. We will systematically knock all evil corporations and governments off of our internet.”
Anonymous has recently threatened to take down the whole of the Internet on March 31 in an effort called Operation Global Blackout. MSNBC reports that it calls for “supporters to download a denial-of-service launching tool, called “Ramp,” which will flood the 13 root Domain Name Servers (DNS) of the Internet with more requests than they can process.”
Should we be worried? According to Robert David Graham from Errata Security, no. He writes on his blog that the hackers could cause localized disruptions but the likelihood that they could take down all root servers is slim.
In the last few weeks, Anonymous has targeted other U.S. government websites, including the Department of Justice and the CIA. The hackers also were able to listen in and record a FBI conference call with British police.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (107)
COFemale
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:49amI think some of you fail to realize Anonymous is not just a few people reeking havoc on different government websites. These can be 100′s of individuals spread across the world who use zombie computers to facilitate a DoS attack. They are not in one location in a basement creating these attacks. The zombie computer can be your own computer, so if you suddenly can’t use it and your CPU runs up to 100% when you are not doing anything and then get that little knock at the door a few hours latter from the FBI, guess what you have just been implicated.
Report Post »2theADDLED
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:57pmHaven’t had that problem since I disconnected my Microsoft run computer and turn on the Linux box.
Report Post »SOPA and PIPA are not dead they just bypassed Congress.
jhrusky
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:48pmThat anonymous logo certainly resembles the logo of the muslim brotherhood … perhaps anonymous will be the entity to cause an alleged upcoming ‘false-flag event’ that our mulsim-in-chief and his cohorts are planning to allow him to declare martial law and suspend/eliminate the election from happening?
Report Post »This_Individual
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:01pmJR, You‘re stretchin’ there buddy.
Report Post »hidden_lion
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:38pmI don’t see the point in shutting down government websites…Who goes to them in the first place? Kind of a pointless waste of their insidious talents if you ask me.
Report Post »the_zazzy
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:59pmI think the logo looks more like the Oakland Raiders…equally as evil, though!
Report Post »The Jewish Avenger
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:48amWhen these guys attack what really hurts the current regime, you will see a frothing raging campaign to kill anything that has to do with the non-collective called Anonymous. Until then, these “rebels” fit perfectly into their plots and plans. Really think about it
Report Post »Seen George Soros itinerary? His email hacked? His friends accounts and dealings exposed? How about Sunmunana or whoevers Pingrees husbands name is? No this is nothing. Not to the real people behind this countries FUBAR.
HTuttle
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:36amIncompetent Anonymous tool douches STILL haven‘t been able to hack Obama’s college transcripts.
Report Post »jwmarietta
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:06pmcause they probably dont exist just like his birth cirtificate. we have a foriegn terrorist running things now!
Report Post »texrubarts
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:02pmThat‘s RIGHT why can’t they hack into those computers and get Obama’s college transcripts? I double dare them to do it. And while they are hacking away – they could help all the people that have bankruptcies on thier files by deleting them off the credit agencies… Wouldn’t that be fun – then they could all get jobs!!! With this mess Obama has created people have lost homes, lost jobs & forced to file bankrupcty and now guess what they can NOT get a job….
Report Post »HappyHaloHousewife
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:54pmGreat point.
Report Post »Patriot of My America
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:37pmI would like to see them hack his Passport and the visa’s attached. Now that would be real interesting info also his college transcripts would be an excellent read as well.. Go to it, yall hackers….
Report Post »gr8t2bfree
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:54pmDang, what a wonderful idea!
Report Post »sodacrackers2
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 11:59pmWhile they are at it, they could find out who paid for his education?
Report Post »txn4justice
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:31amImagine the gov‘t can’t stop Anonymous. Way to go NSA and FBI. Good job protecting the USA. Good grief you knuckleheads, Get it together and track down. Or I guess you like to be made fools of all the time.
Report Post »lembrandt
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:46pmIt’s not that the government *can’t* stop Anonymous – it’s that they *don’t want* to stop Anonymous.
Our current criminal government led by Obamamonster endorses everything Anonymous wants, either directly or indirectly.
If they allow Anonymous to continue to attack the internet it will give a perfect reason for them to impose totalitarian controls on it so that the international socialist overlords that Obamamonster serves can monitor all the content you receive on your computer.
Wait for it – it’s coming.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 10:22amLembrandt hit the nail squarely on the head that time. Right on the button brother.
Report Post »TheBurningTruth
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:23amTypical Progressive Liberal attitudes on several fronts:
1) What’s this “Our Internet” garbage. Does anyone think Anonymous does ANYTHING to build and maintain the internet? Are they providing routing services and maintaining all the hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber and cable? I doubt that! Those same corporations that they’re demeaning are doing that. They’re just free-loaders on someone else’s train;
2) Again we can see the “Ends justify the Means” mentality so prevalent in the left. They declare what they say is right, and then whatever it takes to achieve that is OK, again by their definition. No concern for the rest of society, just scorn and disruptive attacks.
I’m not sure what the right punishment would be. If it weren’t for verbal translators then removing the first two fingers of each hand would slow down their hacking a lot…
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:55amAnd the intellectual elitist would again appoint themselves arbitors of what is good and what is evil. They would choose which government agencies and which corporations are “evil” and which ones are “good.”
Anyone wanna take a guess as to whether they attack Apple for its uber-mega-LUCRATIVE ways?
Or, GE?
Or Disney/ABC/ESPN?
No, they are and will continue to be nothing more than school-yard BULLIES and THUGS, beating up on those they do not like. Those who do not measure up to their intellectually elite standards. Those who do not do as THEY tell them to do.
This is called FASCISM, btw.
Report Post »BLACKDIAMONDSKIER
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:23amWhat an opportunity for the Obama administration. They could declare a National Emergency since these hackers appear to be able to compromise government sites and communications rather easily. Declare an emergency and use it to their advantage to shut down communications and lock down dissenters or terrorists (you know….sovereign U.S. citizens who get paranoid because someone is looking over their shoulder at an internet cafe, or who support the gold standard, or religious people, or people who stand against this administration and their policies). All of which could be suspected terrorist activities of course. Then they could move those people to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA Camps) and hold them without trial for an indefinite period of time. Funny how the federal government has managed to classify a possible terrorist as any citizen who currently lives in the United States. Your verbal disagreement with the policies of this current administration makes you a prime candidate to be scooped up if the President declares an emergency. A brilliant strategy to take over a country without the people really understanding that they are being taken over. What is the Democrat philosophy I hear so much…..Ohhh yea… “Never let a good crisis go to waste!”
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 3:21amTo use your tools to fight tyranny is an heroic endeavor. Look no further the selfless examples of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.
1776 is the answer to 1984.
Report Post »wewantchillywilly
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:19amremove their Vendetta masks, and you will find a coward. a pansy. somebody who would piss themselves if confronted. they are hiding their weakness and their cowardice.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:32amAnd you would know this how? I am sorry I disagree. These are skilled computer hackers, not some backyard script kiddie sitting in mom and dad’s basement using pre-written code.
Report Post »SecularConservative
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:07pmI would imagine that either they educated themselves or went to top schools like MIT or Cal-tech. They prolly have good jobs in the IT field inside of a lot of the biggest online companies. If they hacked the CIA they are prolly working there too…
Report Post »carbonated
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 1:53pm“…remove their mask….”
You’ll find tools of the government. The more these people succeed in digital terror, the more excuses the government has to ‘crack down’ and take away our rights. They might just be on the same side: the enemy of freedom.
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:11pm“Digital terror” . That’s funny.
Better look up the word “terror” that gets thrown around so much by the state media and parroted by gullible morons. It is not “terror”.
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:17pmTerror involves violence by definition.
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:10pmIt’s a group of Mexican wrestlers…Thier main guy is Ray Mysterio
Report Post »hpyagl
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:33pmWhether or not they are pansy’s is beside the point. The reality is that they use their “profession” in evil maligned ways to hurt others. I am an engineer who works on aircraft parts both military and commercial. If I used my skills in an evil way, then the lives of innocent people could be affected. The difference between them and me is that I will not use my training and skills to destroy people and property to make a point.
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 3:24amTo use your tools to fight tyranny is an heroic endeavor. look to the heroic example of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.
1776 is the answer to 1984.
Report Post »UBETHECHANGE
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:18amWho does Anonymous work for? The DNC aka Marxist Party? Soros? Russia? China? or all of them!
Report Post »Patriot of My America
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:39pmYou nailed it, the DNC is also funded by Soros as sorry as that old man is he has a hate of Liberty. Why is this man so mental, Who could guess..
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:18amTerrorists that only look out for their own agenda. I guarantee that someone and/or group with enough money could even buy their loyalty and shut down the “free speech” of the internet that these anomalies are saying they are out to protect.
Report Post »LouC57
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:15amSooooooooo, why haven‘t our super sleuth’s caught these guys yet?
Report Post »Jenasus
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:13amIt’s good to see they shut down the Consumer Finanacial Confiscation Bureau.
Report Post »The government calls it “protection” but it is really confiscation in the real world.
Balthazor
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:06amAgain, please people, learn what the word “treason” actually means so that you don‘t continue to look foolish constantly screaming about it when it doesn’t in fact apply. What these Anonymous clowns are doing is clearly cyber-terrorism, but it’s hardly treason.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:40amWrong! cyber-terrorism against U.S. holdings could be considered treason. Yes, so far they have only posted a list of those visiting porno sites, but in the future it could be something more serious. They haven’t totally crossed the line, but they are coming close.
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 4:08pm“cyber-terrorism” = Orwellian Newspeak.
“Terror” involves violence by definition.
Hanging the “terrorist” label on a bunch of hackers is a Soviet-style way of demonizing/lionizing them into becoming this huge threat that we must generate mass hysteria and panic over.
The bottom line: All throughout history when there is tyranny and BS going on, there’s going to be a few brave souls with the b@lls to resist. This is no different.
I see there are plenty of fools ready and willing to be manipulated by the hype and propaganda.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:05amIt’s easy to see where this entities allegency lies. What with the “Guy Faukes” and the agenda. They will occasionally hack something you may agree that you don’t care if it was attacked or not. But don’t be fooled. The real reason the DOJ does nothing is because they can’t expose one of their own as a criminal. DOJ knows also that anarchy is the final solution of their own administration. And this facilitates their goal.
Report Post »blanco5
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:01amIf they would have just waited, I am positive prez islama would have given them any gov secrets we have left. All they had to do was just ask!
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:56amCatch ‘em, prosecute ‘em, lock ‘em up and stipulate in their sentence that they NEVER have access to any computer for their entire sentence; which should be a life sentence for a cyber terrorist.
Report Post »PoliticiansRCrooks
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:02amYeah but there are plenty of cowards in our government hiding behind scenes too. So if you ask me. It’s cowards vs cowards. It won’t end pretty for the both of them.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:56amHell i wish them luck. We would be better off without a Government instead of the Bozos we have running this country now.
Start with the EPA. USDA, FEMA then the Homeland Security pedophiles please…
Report Post »candcantiques
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:55amIf I actually thought that there was a way they these hackers could end corruption in the government I would be for them but it doesnt seem that they are able to do anything but cost the tax payers money everytime the hack a website. Tell you guys what, Delete Reid Pelosi and Obama and you’ll have the American people behind you, otherwise grow up.
Report Post »honor007
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:50amjust Cowards hiding behind masks. Time for their due punishment. Their acts are acts of Treason. Period.
Report Post »Wilbur Longshank
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:01amHow hard could it be to find out who is doing all that hacking. you mean to tell me the fed govt with all its powers cant use their high powered computers and someone equally as smart as the hackers to hack them back and track them down.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:43amI have to wonder anymore if Annonymous is actually a cover group for a Obama-sanctioned band within the United States; this band has to be part of a larger state-sponsored group or one such group among many. These attacks are too systematic and coordinated with other events; somehow Obama is tied directly with them.
Report Post »Locked
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:48amAs Anonymous has been around since Bush’s first term, I would go with “No”…
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:54amI’ve said before that I believe that Anonymous is an arm of the Obama government. They want and need a reason to take absolute control of the internet. What better way is there than to promote a group that can hack into the governments own websites and then to take over to “ protect” us all?
Report Post »Vitalissue
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:10amYes, Lightguard
Report Post »inexiletill2012
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:42amok ANONYMOUS…..enough is enough
Report Post »Where is the Justice Department on this? Is this not a form of treason ? Are they not criminals ?
Holder is absent again on this. The only way this administration will separate it self from these anarchists is when they crack into some DNC strategic websites.
Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:13amAHolder’ sbusy reading the F&F docs.!
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:42amIt’s time our military takes them out. This is above and beyond being a nuisance.
Report Post »PoliticiansRCrooks
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:04amyou cant kill people for that. Oh my, no wonder why people don’t care about the NDAA. Your calling out people to get killed over a hacked web page. Americans are turning into maniacs.
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:42pmPoliticianrcrooks Did I say kill? You need to calm down. What is wrong with you? You didn’t just jump to a conclution, you threw yourself completely off the cliff.
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 4:24pmSo let me see if I’m understanding your laughable comment, USPATRIOT101:
Some hacker (you think) is sitting in Kiev, or Budapest, etc., in a middle level apartment and you’re going to fly over and bomb the apartment in downtown Kiev or Budapest, when in fact it may be a decoy? These people know how to disguise their IP’s, you know.
Oh, that would go over real good. Restrain your hothead and think about what you’re saying before you make a fool out of yourself.
Something most chicken-hawks don‘t realize is that we’re broke and over-extended as it is. Are we going to borrow more money from China to fund these excursions?
Stupid. You’re an argument against universal suffrage (that means voting, USPATRIOT101, so I’ll save you the time from having to look it up).
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:40am“Anonymous has recently threatened to take down the whole of the Internet on March 31 in an effort called Operation Global Blackout”
Wow .. just like Obama only his date is March 8th!
Report Post »Balthazor
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:04amOh, are you talking about the FBI taking down some DNS servers that have been allowing some people too stupid to remove viruses from their machines to continue using the internet? Yeah, because that’s exactly the same as taking down the entire internet.
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:37amThe government I.T. guys have to solve the problem, no matter how heavy-handed they have to be, in order to end this for good. If they’re not smart enough to get the job done, they have to go, no pensions – no healthcare. We can’t pay inadequate people for the rest of their lives, just because they were hired by the government by mistake.
Hire new people who are capable of getting the job done.
Report Post »Locked
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:50am“Hire new people who are capable of getting the job done.”
Ironically, Anonymous’s members would likely be the best people. If the police catch some of them, they’ll likely get a plea deal that involves them taking down the rest of the group in exchange for a lighter sentence. It’s not an uncommon occurrence in hacking cases.
Also ironically, the next-best people for taking them down would probably be Indian or Chinese.
Report Post »str8blues
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:34amI can’t wait for the FBI to track down some of these anarchists and send a few of them to prison for a long time. They always think they‘re smarter than everyone else until the day they’re looking into a crowd of news cameras video taping them getting hauled away. If they’re from other countries……I’d hope a drone would send them a message from the USA.
Report Post »PoliticiansRCrooks
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:07amHmmm, That sure sounds like treason too. Flying drones in other Countries is considered against the rule of law. Your not God.
Report Post »constitutionaldirective
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 10:34amAnonymous are either delusional or incidious, but in either case an outright danger.
WHO THE HELL gave these people the right to act unilaterally?.. do they suppose themselves the be-all and end-all above the courts?? it is already obvious they consider themselves above the law..
..they have become themselves, an oligarchy, attempting to rule by their own empowerment and not the “consent of the governed” they have become exactly what they portend to fight against!
Report Post »Wat Tyler
Posted on February 18, 2012 at 4:34pmWho gives anyone the right about anything? The POWER to enforce your will upon others.
They have the power, therefore they have the right. Just like everything else from your boss at work to the US military intervening in places they have no business being.
That’s the way it has always been from before the Romans, and that’s the way it will always be.
C’mon, you should already know that. That must be a rhetorical question.
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