Hackers of the World Unite: Groups Declare Open 'War' on Governments and Fat Cats

Lulz Security (Lulzsec) and the Anonymous collective of hackers have declared open cyber warfare against governments, banks, and major corporations, and are calling on all hackers across the globe to join their fight.

Lulzsec posted online that the goal is to expose all 'dark secrets" and corruption, with a particular emphasis on exposure of government classified information. Lulz laid out the details of the battle plan, so to speak, below:

Welcome to Operation Anti-Security (#AntiSec) - we encourage any vessel, large or small, to open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path. We fully endorse the flaunting of the word "AntiSec" on any government website defacement or physical graffiti art. We encourage you to spread the word of AntiSec far and wide, for it will be remembered. To increase efforts, we are now teaming up with the Anonymous collective and all affiliated battleships.

Lulzsec urges all hackers, even those that have disliked Lulzsec and Anonymous in the past, to accept this mission and show the public the truth about the governments and institutions that the hackers believe are enslaving the rest of the world.

While some in the digital community might welcome this campaign for radical transparency, it remains to be seen who will be targeted, and whether there will be much collateral damage on the cyberspace battlefield.

It also remains to be seen whether the openness Lulz Security and others claim to promote may become a casualty itself, as governments further lock down the digital realm in response to this united hacking effort.

Already, police today arrested a 19-year old UK man for alleged involvement in hacking attacks and membership in Anonymous. More such raids seem certain to follow if there is a surge in hacking activity due to Lulz's declaration of cyber war.

Read the group's full statement here.