Anonymous is targeting Iran next!

[Sucal]

Roughly how many people are in Anonymous?

Is it like a small group of hackers or is it a massive worldwide group of people who are above average with computers?

I don't understand how it works.

It doesn't. Anonymous is incredibly hard to explain. Anyone who has a computer can claim to be anonymous. It originated on the four-chan image board, which due to the way they are set up allow anonymous posting. This leads to everyone posting under the name anonymous, and jokes that Anonymous was a single person.

The hactivism part started as people started posting things to the site that violated its ToS or the members collective morals. As amusing as it is to think, there are things that four chan doesn't like. One example is when someone posted a picture/video of them attacking cats. Now any group on the internet is bound to have several people with either scripts or above average computer skills.

They used these to track the person and got them into trouble with the law. Other members however, decided to post that persons details, leading to phonecalls, swearing and shit sent in letter boxes. This occurred several more times, with things like entrapping paedophiles and going after people who stole phones.

At the same time however, Anonymous was also attacking sites for the fun of it, posting porn in random places, and causing mass trolling. Basically its the worlds first true digital subculture, but also a movement for protest and the like. The main problem with such a thing is that unlike many real groups, Anonymous isn't very coherent.

Fitting in with its four-chan routes, there is very little leadership or goals behind everything. Take project Chanology. The first protest movement they did officially as a group came about as people in anonymous got insulted when Scientology tried to suppress freedom of speech on the internet. A rather admirable goal, but it was also the first thing that showed the massive splits.

A large chunk of the more mature members of Anonymous began a series of worldwide peaceful protests against the religion, attempting to highlight its abuses and troubles that have come from it. A the same side, a bunch of the more immature people began attempting to take down and destroy the website, send death threats and fake bombs, write hate mail etc etc.

There might have also been a bunch of Scientologists pretending to be anonymous, gathering information on the others to cause their foes massive amounts of trouble. All three interpretations are true Anonymous, even as Anonymous attempts to do anything.

Anonymous is a Label. Its less a group or a force, then a word used to describe a subculture of people who hide behind their anonymous internet identifies. They aren't hackers, though hackers will claim to be them. Neither are they trolls, hero's, furries, protesters or criminals though such people might use the label.Using Anonymous as a group name is like saying that subcultures such as 'goths' metalheads and Bieber fans are attempting to hack another countries site.'

Its a Meme more or less.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Does Iran even have the internet?
I thought the only social medium they had was signs that say the U.S sucks...

 

[DudeistBelieve]

So Anon steals our credit card information but then tries to save face by attack Iran?

*Le Sigh*

I'm getting quite sick of computer hackers and how they seemingly have no moral compass to keep their absolute power in check.

http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=848

Says it right there they don't discredit the idea some of their hackers may of did it on their own for their own lulz. Plus how the hell would they know if they did it or not when they have no power structure?

If there is AnonOps then there must be some sort of power structure, if only for the duration of an operation. But if a few members went off on there own that is still no reason to blame the whole group. If a football player gets arrested, do we blame the team?

A better example....

If members of the Justice League of America went off and robbed a few banks, yeah I would blame the Justice League for not having it's act together over it's members.

Anon seemingly has no conscience. There is nothing there stopping them from abusing their own incredible power.

Bare in mind I like certain things that they do, but I don't trust them in the least.

 

[ShadowAurora]

terrorists attacking.......terrorists, how deliciously ironic

 

[Kolby Jack]

Oh yes anon lets give people with nukes and a less than standard civil rights act a reason to not like us. Also if they do , do it I doubt very much it will make a difference, last time I checked guns worked without wifi

Iran doesn't have nukes. Israel would never let it happen, and neither would we. That being said, Anon always confuses me. Sometimes they pick worthwhile targets like this, and sometimes they go out of their way to harass somebody who really doesn't deserve it. I honestly don't get the members who see themselves as a kind-of cyber "robin hood" organization, because all they really are are a bunch of nerds (not intended to be an insult) that go around mildly annoying people they don't like. They're more like the cyber equivalent of a bunch of kids throwing rocks at old man Druthers's house because he won't give their ball back.

And if they're gonna quote someone, don't quote the group of demons who were forced to possess a pig. Try quoting the guy who did that to them; I'm sure Jesus said some pretty cool stuff at some point.

 

[LongAndShort]

BAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! This is fucking hilarious!

What the fuck are they gonna do? Do they honestly think anyone in Iran honestly gives a fuck whether a bunch of hackers stand with them? Does Anon think that if it knocks out a few websites they'll usher in some great revolution that will sweep across the nation and usher in a new era of secular prosperity?

The Ayatollah has stayed in power through proxy wars, real wars, protests, riots, famine, elections... Do they think that a bunch of westerners wagging their virtual fingers will get him to break a sweat?

Anon already had quite an impact with the other revolutions in the middle east, i.e. Egypt. True, it is highly unlikely that anything will happen strictly because of them, but add whatever they do to whatever other factors are present and the same thing can happen as in Egypt.

You know what, that would be nice. Hell, that would be fantastic. And I'd be ecstatic if it did.

But it's not. What happened in Egypt happened under an Egyptian context. Rising education levels, greater access to information, both of these happened without a rising standard of living. The protesters had the support of some of the most important religious leaders in the country, notably those in the Muslim Brotherhood. And most importantly, the army stayed way the hell out (for the most part) and backed the new government when it came into power.
This will not happen in Iran. Honestly I think people need to let Iran sort itself out. They're smart, often educated, long-thinking people who figured out a long time ago that change will be gradual, it will not happen over night.

I'd be happier if Anon was targeting Saudi Arabia.

 

[JET1971]

So Anon steals our credit card information but then tries to save face by attack Iran?

*Le Sigh*

I'm getting quite sick of computer hackers and how they seemingly have no moral compass to keep their absolute power in check.

http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=848

Says it right there they don't discredit the idea some of their hackers may of did it on their own for their own lulz. Plus how the hell would they know if they did it or not when they have no power structure?

If there is AnonOps then there must be some sort of power structure, if only for the duration of an operation. But if a few members went off on there own that is still no reason to blame the whole group. If a football player gets arrested, do we blame the team?

Anonops leadership is a core group, lets say oldest members or best leadership skilled members. they pretty much vote on a spokesperson and a target. the members and the core group change with time, and spokesperson changes with targets. its not the same thing as a government, and has no lines dividing location like governments. its anarchy within democracy in a way.

but then again.. look at there rules.. we are all anon.

 

[Canid117]

Epic showdown will be epic.


Or anticlimactic. One of the two.

 

[TheMadTypist]

Weeeell, from what I've read about Iranians, they're not too happy with everything that's going on in their government, but if any outside power tries to come in they'll unify against 'em. I would guess if anon wants to do anything of note they'd have to have a significant iranian chapter involved in whatever they're doing, or else it would be ruled as "western interference".

I'll be watching this one, it'll be interesting to see what they try to pull. If they don't cause any international incidents or similar this could be a step towards recovering whatever public support they lost in the Sony debacle. I've got five bucks that say Ahmadinejad will declare them a shadowy hand of American government though.

 

[Dango]

So Anon is helping people who actually need help for once? It's about damn time.

 

[LikeDustInTheWind]

Roughly how many people are in Anonymous?

Is it like a small group of hackers or is it a massive worldwide group of people who are above average with computers?

I don't understand how it works.

It's a large number of people worldwide who are united by the ideas of free speech and Teh Lulz.
But seriously, they mostly aren't one interconnected group.

So Anon is helping people who actually need help for once? It's about damn time.

Yes, because the things they've done in Libya, Africa, etc. Have never helped anyone in the history of ever.

/sarcasm

 

[BlueMage]

So Anon is now picking their targets based on American propaganda eh? ¬_¬
Just how do they plan on attacking a 3rd world nation anyway? I doubt Iran has the greatest Internet access.

What are they gonna do to Iran? Or more specifically what can they do to Iran.

Gentlemen, I give you .... Stuxnet.

 

[JDLY]

BAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! This is fucking hilarious!

What the fuck are they gonna do? Do they honestly think anyone in Iran honestly gives a fuck whether a bunch of hackers stand with them? Does Anon think that if it knocks out a few websites they'll usher in some great revolution that will sweep across the nation and usher in a new era of secular prosperity?

The Ayatollah has stayed in power through proxy wars, real wars, protests, riots, famine, elections... Do they think that a bunch of westerners wagging their virtual fingers will get him to break a sweat?

Anon already had quite an impact with the other revolutions in the middle east, i.e. Egypt. True, it is highly unlikely that anything will happen strictly because of them, but add whatever they do to whatever other factors are present and the same thing can happen as in Egypt.

You know what, that would be nice. Hell, that would be fantastic. And I'd be ecstatic if it did.

But it's not. What happened in Egypt happened under an Egyptian context. Rising education levels, greater access to information, both of these happened without a rising standard of living. The protesters had the support of some of the most important religious leaders in the country, notably those in the Muslim Brotherhood. And most importantly, the army stayed way the hell out (for the most part) and backed the new government when it came into power.
This will not happen in Iran. Honestly I think people need to let Iran sort itself out. They're smart, often educated, long-thinking people who figured out a long time ago that change will be gradual, it will not happen over night.

I'd be happier if Anon was targeting Saudi Arabia.

I was just going of what I knew. I didn't know about the rising education levels and such. My main point, anyway, was that other things would be required. That Anon by itself would not cause a revolution.

 

[JET1971]

Weeeell, from what I've read about Iranians, they're not too happy with everything that's going on in their government, but if any outside power tries to come in they'll unify against 'em. I would guess if anon wants to do anything of note they'd have to have a significant iranian chapter involved in whatever they're doing, or else it would be ruled as "western interference".

I'll be watching this one, it'll be interesting to see what they try to pull. If they don't cause any international incidents or similar this could be a step towards recovering whatever public support they lost in the Sony debacle. I've got five bucks that say Ahmadinejad will declare them a shadowy hand of American government though.

I will toss another $5 ontop of yours. also you have some good points. then the western interferance was indoctrinated into them, i hope they can see past that.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Unless Annon has gotten to the level where they can actually break into government computers and completely muck things up, I do have to ask exactly what they can do to help. DOS attacks aren't going to do a damn thing in this situation, and it would be pretty hard for Iranian civilians to feel any kind of boost from a literally annonymous group of westerners.

Still they have surprised me before, but making fun of the Westboro church is one thing... taking down a corrupt government is a different kettle of memes.

 

[BlueMage]

And if they're gonna quote someone, don't quote the group of demons who were forced to possess a pig. Try quoting the guy who did that to them; I'm sure Jesus said some pretty cool stuff at some point.

And attach a face to the name? Oh yes, I'm certain in this particular op that'd go down well. "Hey fellow Abrahamic believers, we're here to help! Just like Jesus ... you know, Jesus, Son of God? What? What do you mean, he was just a great prophet?"

No, the whole point of the quote is that Anon is a faceless LEGION. You cannot destroy it. Hells, you can't even TARGET it. Plenty have tried.

Now where's my damn morphsuit...

 

[The Youth Counselor]

BAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! This is fucking hilarious!

What the fuck are they gonna do? Do they honestly think anyone in Iran honestly gives a fuck whether a bunch of hackers stand with them? Does Anon think that if it knocks out a few websites they'll usher in some great revolution that will sweep across the nation and usher in a new era of secular prosperity?

The Ayatollah has stayed in power through proxy wars, real wars, protests, riots, famine, elections... Do they think that a bunch of westerners wagging their virtual fingers will get him to break a sweat?

Anon already had quite an impact with the other revolutions in the middle east, i.e. Egypt. True, it is highly unlikely that anything will happen strictly because of them, but add whatever they do to whatever other factors are present and the same thing can happen as in Egypt.

You know what, that would be nice. Hell, that would be fantastic. And I'd be ecstatic if it did.

But it's not. What happened in Egypt happened under an Egyptian context. Rising education levels, greater access to information, both of these happened without a rising standard of living. The protesters had the support of some of the most important religious leaders in the country, notably those in the Muslim Brotherhood. And most importantly, the army stayed way the hell out (for the most part) and backed the new government when it came into power.
This will not happen in Iran. Honestly I think people need to let Iran sort itself out. They're smart, often educated, long-thinking people who figured out a long time ago that change will be gradual, it will not happen over night.

I'd be happier if Anon was targeting Saudi Arabia.

Hactivists and netizens working within and outside the Anon banner had a big role in the Jasmine Revolution. People using social networking clients and technology organized rallies and spread news and information on Khalid Saeed, Mohammed Bouazizi, and the Wikileaks diplomatic cables that showed irrefutable proof of corruption happening in North Africa and the Middle East. Many of the government networks of those countries, (being websites, emergency bands, telephone lines) were bombarded with interference, calls, and DDOS attacks that crippled their censorship and propaganda efforts as well as hindered the capabilities of the police and military to organize.

 

[JDLY]

Unless Annon has gotten to the level where they can actually break into government computers and completely muck things up, I do have to ask exactly what they can do to help. DOS attacks aren't going to do a damn thing in this situation, and it would be pretty hard for Iranian civilians to feel any kind of boost from a literally annonymous group of westerners.

Still they have surprised me before, but making fun of the Westboro church is one thing... taking down a corrupt government is a different kettle of memes.

I believe they have already claimed helping, I don't know how, take down the governments of Egypt and that other Middle Eastern country who's name escapes me right now.
I think so anyway.

 

[Echo136]

They may be trying to do something "noble", but they are still nothing but a bunch of trolls on the internet.

 

[HTID Raver]

iran has computers?!?!

lol jk but to be honest this seems like a waste of time and breath