Anonymous Declares "Infowar" on Wikileaks Opponents

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
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Anonymous Declares "Infowar" on Wikileaks Opponents


Anonymous has rushed to the aid of beleaguered infowar [http://213.251.145.96/]" against companies that are working to bring them down.

A man once famously described the internet as "a series of tubes," a comment that was widely derided for its fundamental misunderstanding of the system. In reality, the internet is more like a box, and inside that box is a cat named Anonymous, existing in a quantum state of both great hero and wicked villain until an observer looks inside and is immediately driven insane by what he sees. That's the best explanation I can come up with, anyway, for the spectacle of Anonymous launching an "infowar" against PostFinance [http://www.paypal.com/] and other operations who have hung Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, out to dry.

It's been a rough ride for Assange, whose Wikileaks has been making headlines for exposing thousands of confidential diplomatic communiques and, prior to that, some very shocking revelations about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His personal and business finances have been frozen, Wikileaks was effectively (if temporarily) pushed off the net, and journalists and politicians alike - from North America, mind you, not Somalia or Sudan - have actually called for his murder [http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/12/meet-the-people-who-want-julian-assange-whacked.ars]. And now, riding in to its own particular brand of rescue, comes Anonymous.

The Swedish prosecutors' office [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104994-Anonymous-Attacks-US-Government], which is currently pursuing a sexual misconduct case against Assange, was also taken down, although it too appears to be back.

"While we don't have much of an affiliation with WikiLeaks, we fight for the same reasons," Anonymous wrote on the Operation: Payback website [http://anonops.net/]. "We want transparency and we counter censorship. The attempts to silence WikiLeaks are long strides closer to a world where we cannot say what we think and are unable to express our opinions and ideas. We cannot let this happen."

Interestingly, anonops.com itself came under a DDoS attack which took it offline briefly, although the Low-Orbit Ion Cannons are apparently still firing.

For now, Assange remains in a U.K. jail after surrendering to police and being denied bail, while Wikileaks survives on various mirror sites [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks] and the companies that have attempted to sever its online and financial ties continue to claim that they did so not because of political pressure but because of terms of service violations or technical issues. It's a claim that doesn't seem likely to satisfy Anonymous' thirst for cause-driven mayhem.


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Drop_D-Bombshell

Doing Nothing Productive...
Apr 17, 2010
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I remember seeing this briefly on BBC's twitter feed while have a drink in college. It was only a matter of time before anon decided to intervene.
 

tkioz

Fussy Fiddler
May 7, 2009
2,301
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Normally I enjoy Anonymous' rages, if only because I don't care about their targets or their motives, but this is a really really bad thing, in my personal opinion which I don't want to debate Wikileaks is doing something important, and all Anonymous will end up doing is hurting them with their "help" the same way people like PETA harm the real animal rights activists like the RSPCA.
 

qbanknight

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Apr 15, 2009
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I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
 

10BIT

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Sep 14, 2008
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Anonymous have also attacked Mastercard. [http://www.businessinsider.com/cyber-hackers-that-took-down-swiss-bank-site-have-now-taken-down-mastercardcom-2010-12]
 

Distorted Stu

New member
Sep 22, 2009
4,229
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Can anyone stop the cannons firing?
I still see Anon as a hero, people over look all the good stuff they have done.
 

Blind Sight

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May 16, 2010
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Julian Assange might be a scumbag, but I fully support what Wikileaks does and it disgusts me that so many people in power are trying to bring them down. God forbid that governments have a bit of accountability for their actions. Not to sounded like a paranoid nut, but there is a lot of things going on that politicians simply don't want you to know, and I really think that stuff should be brought to light.

Folks are playing dirty against Wikileaks, so I have no problem with questionable methods at this point.
 

geldonyetich

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Aug 2, 2006
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This is some pretty serious political activism, and it's going to carry some pretty serious consequences.

Like, "end of 4chan" or "anonymous not nearly as anonymous as they thought when they were arrested" kind of serious.
 

Fumbleumble

New member
Oct 17, 2010
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qbanknight said:
I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
First of all.. his 'actions' are such that anyone of us could be accused of.. this is just a massive smear campaign being organised and funded by the people he is outing....In this day and age you REALLY should be more aware of the lies and methods used against people to keep them quiet or to distract PEOPLE LIKE YOU away from what is REALLY going on. You should start thinkig for yourself instead of swallowing what the establishment throws at you.

Secondly.. of all the shit you have seen and read about the details of what is being revealed by this peson.. ARE YOU REALLY SURE that we shouldn't know about this.. and if we do all just BURY OUR HEADS IN THE SAND who will stop things from getting worse, a TRUE FASCIST SOCIETY..because they are certainly not going to get any better.

As for the arguement 'but people are going to be harmed.. waaaa'.. really?.. then they shouldn't be involved.. THAT is what is causing 'harm' to come to them, not the revelations them self.

Assange is a BLOODY HERO, because he knew fine well he would be roasted,(regardless of his current legal status) and Anonymous are the only ones left who have the balls and resources to stick up for our rights (granted them may have more chaotic motives.. but the result is the same.)
 

Jack and Calumon

Digimon are cool.
Dec 29, 2008
4,190
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They call themselves ANONYMOUS! They are hackers on, blah blah blah.

Above is a Sky news report and a BBC news, showing that Anonymous are getting exactly what they don't want. Major Publicity. I wonder how the self proclaimed "Oldfags" will react? I imagine the dubbed "Newfags" will just scream and pretend it's a big deal.

Either way, Anonymous is becoming more into the light and this attack is not going to go overlooked that easily.

I'd say more on the subject, but I fear government agents might arrest me too and make me Number 61 on The Island.

Calumon: So someone is in trouble because he told the truth? :S
 

JediMB

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Oct 25, 2008
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Personally I'm convinced that the rape charges are bogus. How they emerged just doesn't make much sense.

Andy Chalk said:
the companies that have attempted to sever its online and financial ties continue to claim that they did so not because of political pressure but because of terms of service violations or technical issues.
Cowards and liars.
 

chaos order

New member
Jan 27, 2010
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Fumbleumble said:
qbanknight said:
I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
First of all.. his 'actions' are such that anyone of us could be accused of.. this is just a massive smear campaign being organised and funded by the people he is outing....In this day and age you REALLY should be more aware of the lies and methods used against people to keep them quiet or to distract PEOPLE LIKE YOU away from what is REALLY going on. You should start thinkig for yourself instead of swallowing what the establishment throws at you.

Secondly.. of all the shit you have seen and read about the details of what is being revealed by this peson.. ARE YOU REALLY SURE that we shouldn't know about this.. and if we do all just BURY OUR HEADS IN THE SAND who will stop things from getting worse, a TRUE FASCIST SOCIETY..because they are certainly not going to get any better.

As for the arguement 'but people are going to be harmed.. waaaa'.. really?.. then they shouldn't be involved.. THAT is what is causing 'harm' to come to them, not the revelations them self.

Assange is a BLOODY HERO (regardless of his current legal status) and Anonymous are the only ones left who have the balls and resources to stick up for our rights (granted them may have more chaotic motives.. but the result is the same.)
although i agree with u about wikileaks i dont know if anon is the best ally.
 

Delock

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Mar 4, 2009
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Jack and Calumon said:
Calumon: So someone is in trouble because he told the truth? :S
There's a bit more to it than just that (at least surface wise), but thank you for putting it in those words. It's amazing what a perspective one can have when it's simplified like that.
 

JaredXE

New member
Apr 1, 2009
1,378
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I say protect the man. No one has been hurt by throwing a bit of transparency down on government acts, all it has done is embarrass diplomats and foreign dignitaries. SO? That's not treason. That's just an extension of "If you can't say anything nice, don't put it in a diplomatic cable that may come back and bite you in your priviledged ass!"

And when I say no one has been hurt by this, I mean secret operatives being exposed and the like. Public embarrassment is not physical harm. If our people in dangerous areas had actually been hurt due to the leaks, then it would be on every news channel, BUT THEY HAVEN'T. He's not outting the CIA department head in charge of preventing nukes getting into hostile countries here guys, ok, that was the Bush administration. All Assange did with this leak is let the world see what our diplomats really think of them.....fine by me.

Treason my ass, all it is is a distraction for the mass media. If we are on the kick of labeling people as dangerous terrorists and hunting them down for being hostile to America, how is that search for Osama doing? Nearly 10 years hasn't it been? Fucking bunch of losers.
 

Naheal

New member
Sep 6, 2009
3,375
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qbanknight said:
I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
First off, the rape charges are trumped up. Second off, the Pentagon Papers are still classified. Even if he were to leak those, he'd still fall under the category of an information terrorist.
 

Fumbleumble

New member
Oct 17, 2010
341
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chaos order said:
Fumbleumble said:
qbanknight said:
I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
First of all.. his 'actions' are such that anyone of us could be accused of.. this is just a massive smear campaign being organised and funded by the people he is outing....In this day and age you REALLY should be more aware of the lies and methods used against people to keep them quiet or to distract PEOPLE LIKE YOU away from what is REALLY going on. You should start thinkig for yourself instead of swallowing what the establishment throws at you.

Secondly.. of all the shit you have seen and read about the details of what is being revealed by this peson.. ARE YOU REALLY SURE that we shouldn't know about this.. and if we do all just BURY OUR HEADS IN THE SAND who will stop things from getting worse, a TRUE FASCIST SOCIETY..because they are certainly not going to get any better.

As for the arguement 'but people are going to be harmed.. waaaa'.. really?.. then they shouldn't be involved.. THAT is what is causing 'harm' to come to them, not the revelations them self.

Assange is a BLOODY HERO (regardless of his current legal status) and Anonymous are the only ones left who have the balls and resources to stick up for our rights (granted them may have more chaotic motives.. but the result is the same.)
although i agree with u about wikileaks i dont know if anon is the best ally.
It's any port in a storm mate, no-one else is stepping up... I f people like Assange stop trying to fight the system, and groups like Anon stop being the chaotic little bleeders that they are.... then quite frankly we're all fucked.
 

Mcface

New member
Aug 30, 2009
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Anon has also attacked wikileak hosting sites.
they arent really taking sides, they are screwing with everyone.
 

Mcface

New member
Aug 30, 2009
2,266
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0
Fumbleumble said:
qbanknight said:
I'm sorry but to hell with this rapist. His alleged sexual-assault crime aside, the man has exposed HIGHLY classified material on the damn internet. No, I don't mean historical documents concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Those documents are history are fully protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press, look up the Pentagon Papers for a similar case involving the Vietnam War and government leaks. I know the man is Australian, but I'm going to judge him by the American legal system.

However, what is NOT PROTECTED is divulging secrets that pose a national security threat. Like say the locations of HIGHLY IMPORTANT sites according to Homeland Security. If I was a terrorist (be it for Al-Qaeda, Neo-Nazi, IRA, etc.) then a list like that is essentially a travel log of where to commit the most horrific result. That's not freedom of the press, that's putting people's lives in danger. So please do not act all surprised when you see politicians in my country calling for his head, he's not some righteous savior...he's a fucking asshole
First of all.. his 'actions' are such that anyone of us could be accused of.. this is just a massive smear campaign being organised and funded by the people he is outing....In this day and age you REALLY should be more aware of the lies and methods used against people to keep them quiet or to distract PEOPLE LIKE YOU away from what is REALLY going on. You should start thinkig for yourself instead of swallowing what the establishment throws at you.

Secondly.. of all the shit you have seen and read about the details of what is being revealed by this peson.. ARE YOU REALLY SURE that we shouldn't know about this.. and if we do all just BURY OUR HEADS IN THE SAND who will stop things from getting worse, a TRUE FASCIST SOCIETY..because they are certainly not going to get any better.

As for the arguement 'but people are going to be harmed.. waaaa'.. really?.. then they shouldn't be involved.. THAT is what is causing 'harm' to come to them, not the revelations them self.

Assange is a BLOODY HERO, because he knew fine well he would be roasted,(regardless of his current legal status) and Anonymous are the only ones left who have the balls and resources to stick up for our rights (granted them may have more chaotic motives.. but the result is the same.)
There are some things that NEED to stay secret. At least for now. No justice is being done by leaking ongoing, or soon to be under way operations in the middle east, which could have cost a lot of lives. Also, a lot of this stuff with all of the nuclear bombs, we are all better off not knowing.