Hey guys, and welcome back to my blog. Today I have a very rare treat for you: An "indie" post (that's my way of saying a post that is just made from my pure thoughts and not a book summary, swimming blog, you get the idea). In today's post, I'm going to talk about responsiblity. "Why, Jason?", I hear you say. "What in the name of hell made you come up with this topic for your blog?" Well, I'll tell you why.
Just this morning, I went to my 5:00 a.m. swimming practice as usual. But that morning I had a stomachache, God Knows Why. Anyway, since I was sick, I was in no condition to be swimming because I would be $#!++ing in the pool at the same time (OK, that was an exaggeration, but that just shows you how I was in no condition for swimming practice).
So my dad (who was bringing me to the pool at the time) decided to bring my brother to the pool alone while I stayed in the car and had a bit of rest. Meanwhile, my dad told me that he would be jogging around the nearby stadium until the swimming practice was over. He told me that I could take a bath at the pool with his soap and shampoo that he brought with him every work day (he too, like me, took a bath, brushed his teeth and did all those morning activities in the office).
"Wait a minute," I hear you say. "Why did your dad permit you to use his soap and shampoo in the first place? Wouldn't you have brought your own toiletries for taking a bath at the pool like the average guy would?" Well, the truth is that when we (and by that I mean my brother and I) take a bath in the pool, for some unknown reason, we never cared about bringing toiletries to the pool bathroom (I know that sounds a bit illogical, but read on and you'll find out why). This is our daily routine every morning we go to the pool for swimming practice, since it will help you understand the post a lot easier:
JASON'S (75%) FOOLPROOF GUIDE TO GOING STRAIGHT TO SCHOOL FROM SWIMMING PRACTICE
1. Finish swimming.
2. Go take a bath in the pool bathroom (PROTIP: how to take a bath Jason-style: in the bathroom, why bring your own soap, shampoo and other stuff when you can just borrow from your friends or complete strangers? Just ask them if you can borrow the toiletries and give them back once you're done with it! it's worked for my bro and I 95% of the time).
3. Once done bathing, head back to the bench near the pool. Take bath robe from your SWIMMING bag on the bench and wear it.
4. Wait for bro to come and pick up HIS bath robe (you can skip this step if in step 3 your bro has already picked up his bath robe before you). When he arrives, get to your car for transport to school.
5. In the car, eat your breakfast. Afterwards, take school uniform and clothes from the CLOTHES bag and change before you get to school (otherwise you'll get to the school still in your bathrobe, which is totally embarrassing considering that everyone else is wearing the school uniform except you. Trust me, I've been there before).
6. When you get to school (provided you followed step 5), hop off car, bag(s) in hand, ready to face the day ahead of you.
Pretty straightforward, right? Well, picture this: Everything went A-OK EXCEPT for the part that I wasn't swimming and at that time I got a bit forgetful. So there I was, chilling in my dad's car, thinking that when daylight came, I could go and take a bath in a secluded bathroom, filled with nobody but myself. Just the way I like it. When I finished bathing, I changed my clothes and brought back my dad's toiletries. Nothing wrong, right?
Well, here's the thing. I put the soap and shampoo IN MY SWIMMING BAG. I was supposed to return them to my dad, but apparently I had too much in my mind at the moment that I put it in the bag's side pocket (oh well, it could've been worse. For example, I could've lost it in the bathroom, got it run over by a car, accidentally drop it in the sewer grate, the possibilities are endless and much worse). I then continued my daily routine to school starting from step 5.
When I got home, my mom told me that my dad took a bath in the office using only the shower (and as you may realize from your own experiences, my dad couldn't just ask his employees for toiletries, he knows better than that. And by the way, he's too "formal" for that) and no soap or shampoo to help rinse his body totally dirt-free. Of course, I knew that this was my fault (although it did take me a while to realize that I misplaced the toiletries), and my mom then informed me that my dad (now, how to put this gently?) wasn't exactly pumped up about the idea that I accidentally misplaced his toiletries.
And that's how this post came to be. My dad ordered me to create a post about responsibilty regarding MY lack of responsibilty for today's actions. Enjoy this post while you can, because chances are that another post like this won't come out in a long time (remember, I have to attend to my swimming blog). Oh yeah, and by the way, following today's episode, I'm going to have to make a mental note that I should keep my distance with my dad. I should also become less forgetful so that this &^//$#!+ wouldn't happen in the first place. Until the next post guys! Goodbye for now!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 26
Hey guys, and to start this post, I owe you a big apology. Many of you may have noticed that my blog is incomplete of all the We Are Anonymous summaries. When I looked back, I also realized that I FORGOT TO WRITE CHAPTER 26! I wanted to write it, but with all this swimming blog stuff going on, I haven't managed to find time to do it. So without further ado, here's the missing chapter, in which we find out what happened to Hector "Sabu" Monsegur.
It may surprise you that for a man who has been crying out lous for being above the law and hating the Po-po, it took a surprisingly short time for Sabu to decide to join the FBI in their hunt for hackers. As a matter of fact, Sabu began working with the cops on their hunt for hackers literally since the day he got arrested. He spent nights assisting the government build cases against co-conspirators. He even willfully admitted to the authorities that he participated in the heated assaults on the government with relative ease.
Since the day Sabu decided to join forces with the Feds, they were sure to keep a good eye on him. they implanted a key-logging software on his computer that would track down every single word he typed and video surveillance in his home to see what he was up to while not working with the cops. Despite all these cops breathing down his neck, Sabu managed to cooperate well and get along with the authorities, giving them a big hand with their work against hacking.
Of course, Sabu became despised throughout the hacker community after they got news about his alliance with their all-time nemesises, the cops. A hacker known as "VIrus", whom Sabu worked with during his time in LulzSec, was taken aback by Sabu's change of sides. He accused Sabu of being a turncoat all along, even engaging in a hostile conversation with the hacker, stating that he was the one whoratted Topiary out. Of course, Sabu countered saying that he wasn't a rat and that he was doing something for the greater good. The chat continued for a few hours, full of heated accusations on each of the hackers.
However, Sabu will have a hard time convincing his ex-hacker pals that he was indeed fighting for a good cause. By working for the FBI, he supported an anti-hacker movement named Antisec. Antisec was a massive anti-hacker group dedicated to destroying hacker organizations such as Anonymous and LulzSec, the two teams Sabu had previously been on.
Fortunately, Sabu hadn't gone completely rogue and cop-like. He still had some hacker soul in him. Since his former nickname "Sabu" is now hated throughout the hacker community, he wanted to enter Anonymous as a new, fresh hacker. Where he could start a new, clean slate, avoiding arrest and harassment from the police (remember, he was doing all this right under the noses of the FBI). He changed his nickname to "Kage" or "Kaz" (the book isn't certain which one he used) and started a new life as a new, fresh hacker is the community.
So that should be it. Hopefully this is all of the We Are Anonymous summaries. I'll be back with more stuff for my blog. For now, goodbye!
It may surprise you that for a man who has been crying out lous for being above the law and hating the Po-po, it took a surprisingly short time for Sabu to decide to join the FBI in their hunt for hackers. As a matter of fact, Sabu began working with the cops on their hunt for hackers literally since the day he got arrested. He spent nights assisting the government build cases against co-conspirators. He even willfully admitted to the authorities that he participated in the heated assaults on the government with relative ease.
Since the day Sabu decided to join forces with the Feds, they were sure to keep a good eye on him. they implanted a key-logging software on his computer that would track down every single word he typed and video surveillance in his home to see what he was up to while not working with the cops. Despite all these cops breathing down his neck, Sabu managed to cooperate well and get along with the authorities, giving them a big hand with their work against hacking.
Of course, Sabu became despised throughout the hacker community after they got news about his alliance with their all-time nemesises, the cops. A hacker known as "VIrus", whom Sabu worked with during his time in LulzSec, was taken aback by Sabu's change of sides. He accused Sabu of being a turncoat all along, even engaging in a hostile conversation with the hacker, stating that he was the one whoratted Topiary out. Of course, Sabu countered saying that he wasn't a rat and that he was doing something for the greater good. The chat continued for a few hours, full of heated accusations on each of the hackers.
However, Sabu will have a hard time convincing his ex-hacker pals that he was indeed fighting for a good cause. By working for the FBI, he supported an anti-hacker movement named Antisec. Antisec was a massive anti-hacker group dedicated to destroying hacker organizations such as Anonymous and LulzSec, the two teams Sabu had previously been on.
Fortunately, Sabu hadn't gone completely rogue and cop-like. He still had some hacker soul in him. Since his former nickname "Sabu" is now hated throughout the hacker community, he wanted to enter Anonymous as a new, fresh hacker. Where he could start a new, clean slate, avoiding arrest and harassment from the police (remember, he was doing all this right under the noses of the FBI). He changed his nickname to "Kage" or "Kaz" (the book isn't certain which one he used) and started a new life as a new, fresh hacker is the community.
So that should be it. Hopefully this is all of the We Are Anonymous summaries. I'll be back with more stuff for my blog. For now, goodbye!
Friday, June 13, 2014
Vaksincom article 1: Game over Zeus
Hey guys, and welcome back to my blog. My dad just sent me an article to me, and told me to translate it for all the English-speaking people out there. I've already translated the article, but he told me to wait until Monday for him to publish the original article (the one in Indonesian language) on the Vaksincom website. So I thought, why not post it on my blog? So without further ado, here's the translated version for you guys...
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with its internet users in 2014 was estimated at 42 million. According to Internetlivestats, the number of Internet users in Indonesia ranks 13th right under South Korea. However, the ratings number of Internet users did not conform with the awareness of security devices used. Evident from the statistics of the most dangerous financial malware infection as the name implies can cause “gameover” to the victim's account and can be said to be most feared by financial institutions in the world in 2014. GOZ or better known as the Game Over Zeus. It is not yet known if learning from the program either candidate of Indonesia's president is decentralized, GOZ evolved from initially having a Command and Control center is centralized to decentralized into by utilizing P2P (Peer to Peer) is very effective in protecting the maker of detection and entrapment law enforcement. But its creator has control over all the infected computers via P2P. Just so you know, the number of infections GOZ in Indonesia at the time this article was created, in June 2014 recorded 7,678 cases or 4.83% of total infection of the Top 20 countries most affected GOZ per June 2014. In Indonesia ranks ninth ranked as the country most affected GOZ. When comparing the number of Internet users ranked at number 13 and total ranking infection GOZ 9 then, without further analyzes may exist that take a quick conclusion that security awareness is low in Indonesia, especially those related to infection GOZ. However, whether the conclusion is true or not, Vaksincom will examine further for you.
Table 2: GOZ infections in 2012 (data from secureworks.com)
Here we can see that Ukraine and Japan that did not enter the Top 10 in 2012 but managed to make it to ranks 1 and 2, displacing the United States to rank 3, while Germany was removed from the Top 10 to number 14 in 2014. Unlike the Japanese badminton team which managed to rank The first world champion Thomas Cup (a good thing), a high rank on GOZ infection means the opposite. More and more devices infected by GOZ indicate a threat to users and financial institutions in the concerned country. So Ukraine and Japan get a bad record, noting an increase in the total ranking of infected computers GOZ compared to other countries.
The Actual Position
However, whether it is fair we assess the hazard rating of the total number of infections without considering other factors? Supposing if you see 3 Toyotas get flat tires in a day and none of Lamborghinis getting flat tires in a week is enough to conclude that the Lamborghini car better than the Toyota? Of course there are other factors that must be considered, one of which is how the population of Toyotas and Lamborghinis. The analysis was also done on the Vaksincom article “20 Countries Most Vulnerable to Conficker” 2013 http://vaksin.com/2013/0613/conficker 202013/conficker%%% 20statistic 20statistic% 202013.html. Although at that time the Chinese were the most infected by Conficker, the country with the most risk of Conficker is Argentina.
Back then Vaksincom was comparing the total number of GOZ infections to the total Internet users of the country concerned (the results can be seen in their website, www.vaksin.com)
5 countries with the highest ratio of infection GOZ has changed. The 5 countries most affected GOZ that was formerly occupied by Ukraine, Japan, United States, Italy and India turned into Belarus, Ukraine, Algeria, Italy and Kazakhstan. Japan was thrown into rank 13 and catapulted India to rank 19. This happens because that when the number of Internet users in Japan and India is compared to the number of GOZ infections, the ratio is very small. How about the position of Indonesia? Indonesia was originally ranked 9. however, when compared with the ratio of internet users in the country it drops to 13th. However, it is better than Vietnam, which is still entrenched in the ranks 7 and 8. This is certainly the least a warning could do for all of us to consciously run a good security habits.
Vaksincom will create some follow-up articles that will give you some details about the recent GOZ lunge, which was quite amazing given its ability to perform “recruit receiver” couriers money through spam (which is in collaboration with Cutwail spam), it performs its antics via DDoS after successfully moving large amounts of funds from banks in order to distract their victims to the point of the action administrator inserting Cryptolocker insert into the victim computer in order to benefit financially if he feels that the computer which does not have the credentials are worth stealing. Do not forget who the two major Indonesian ASN that made it into the Top 10 ASNs world most affected GOZ or P2P Zeus.
Regards,
Alfons Tanujaya
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with its internet users in 2014 was estimated at 42 million. According to Internetlivestats, the number of Internet users in Indonesia ranks 13th right under South Korea. However, the ratings number of Internet users did not conform with the awareness of security devices used. Evident from the statistics of the most dangerous financial malware infection as the name implies can cause “gameover” to the victim's account and can be said to be most feared by financial institutions in the world in 2014. GOZ or better known as the Game Over Zeus. It is not yet known if learning from the program either candidate of Indonesia's president is decentralized, GOZ evolved from initially having a Command and Control center is centralized to decentralized into by utilizing P2P (Peer to Peer) is very effective in protecting the maker of detection and entrapment law enforcement. But its creator has control over all the infected computers via P2P. Just so you know, the number of infections GOZ in Indonesia at the time this article was created, in June 2014 recorded 7,678 cases or 4.83% of total infection of the Top 20 countries most affected GOZ per June 2014. In Indonesia ranks ninth ranked as the country most affected GOZ. When comparing the number of Internet users ranked at number 13 and total ranking infection GOZ 9 then, without further analyzes may exist that take a quick conclusion that security awareness is low in Indonesia, especially those related to infection GOZ. However, whether the conclusion is true or not, Vaksincom will examine further for you.
Table
1, the GOZ infection in the world
Compared to conditions in the year 2012 where the infection reaches 113.196 unique IP GOZ (according to data from SecureWorks) ranks Indonesia at that time where it ranked eighth in total with no significant changes. Although there is a decrease in the quantity of infection, but it is also experienced by other countries as well so that Indonesia's ranking in the number of GOZ-infected computers (and still active to this day) has only decreased by 1 ranking. However, compared to the data with the data of 2012 today, it is in fact a major shift in the top 5 ranking. In 2014 the big 5 countries infected by the GOZ (in a row) consist of Ukraine, Japan, USA, Italy and India, while in 2012 the champion was the United States, Germany, Italy, Canada and Brazil.Here we can see that Ukraine and Japan that did not enter the Top 10 in 2012 but managed to make it to ranks 1 and 2, displacing the United States to rank 3, while Germany was removed from the Top 10 to number 14 in 2014. Unlike the Japanese badminton team which managed to rank The first world champion Thomas Cup (a good thing), a high rank on GOZ infection means the opposite. More and more devices infected by GOZ indicate a threat to users and financial institutions in the concerned country. So Ukraine and Japan get a bad record, noting an increase in the total ranking of infected computers GOZ compared to other countries.
The Actual Position
However, whether it is fair we assess the hazard rating of the total number of infections without considering other factors? Supposing if you see 3 Toyotas get flat tires in a day and none of Lamborghinis getting flat tires in a week is enough to conclude that the Lamborghini car better than the Toyota? Of course there are other factors that must be considered, one of which is how the population of Toyotas and Lamborghinis. The analysis was also done on the Vaksincom article “20 Countries Most Vulnerable to Conficker” 2013 http://vaksin.com/2013/0613/conficker 202013/conficker%%% 20statistic 20statistic% 202013.html. Although at that time the Chinese were the most infected by Conficker, the country with the most risk of Conficker is Argentina.
Back then Vaksincom was comparing the total number of GOZ infections to the total Internet users of the country concerned (the results can be seen in their website, www.vaksin.com)
5 countries with the highest ratio of infection GOZ has changed. The 5 countries most affected GOZ that was formerly occupied by Ukraine, Japan, United States, Italy and India turned into Belarus, Ukraine, Algeria, Italy and Kazakhstan. Japan was thrown into rank 13 and catapulted India to rank 19. This happens because that when the number of Internet users in Japan and India is compared to the number of GOZ infections, the ratio is very small. How about the position of Indonesia? Indonesia was originally ranked 9. however, when compared with the ratio of internet users in the country it drops to 13th. However, it is better than Vietnam, which is still entrenched in the ranks 7 and 8. This is certainly the least a warning could do for all of us to consciously run a good security habits.
Vaksincom will create some follow-up articles that will give you some details about the recent GOZ lunge, which was quite amazing given its ability to perform “recruit receiver” couriers money through spam (which is in collaboration with Cutwail spam), it performs its antics via DDoS after successfully moving large amounts of funds from banks in order to distract their victims to the point of the action administrator inserting Cryptolocker insert into the victim computer in order to benefit financially if he feels that the computer which does not have the credentials are worth stealing. Do not forget who the two major Indonesian ASN that made it into the Top 10 ASNs world most affected GOZ or P2P Zeus.
Regards,
Alfons Tanujaya
Sunday, June 1, 2014
We Are Anonymous Part 3 Overall Summary
Hey guys, and welcome back to my collection of We Are Anonymous summaries. As you know, we're officially done with the book, and this will be the final post on what has happened in Part 3. Anonymous almost ended, leaders arrested... Let's find out more.
First, we saw Topiary get arrested by the po-po for hacking. As you may recall, he was caught red-handed with some evidence of his hacking actions (if you remember, he did not take enough safety precautions to keep his hacking reputation hidden from the prying eyes of the authorities. Therefore, the police easily dug up the data they needed to prove Topiary a guilty, no-good hacker.
Then we saw Sabu and the accusations he had to withstand. As a prisoner for the authorities, he was forced to work for the FBI, resulting in his ratting out of the many "significant" hackers of Anonymous, among them Topiary. He also faced some insults from inside hacking world, such as messages from different hackers that he "ratted his friends out". Predictably, Sabu attempted to deny this, saying that he didn't "rat out" his friends (honestly, I don't know what he could've said after doing that).
And finally, the hacker Kayla was also arrested. "Kayla" was proven to be Ryan Mark Ackroyd, an ex-military hacker. However, a few pages later it is stated that Ryan was framed (in a way). It turns out that, despite doing a few despicable acts that have been reported to be done by Kayla, didn't do ALL of the crimes. So the hnt for the real Kayla still continues.
In the end, it turns out that, despite all the hardships experienced by the Anons, they managed to live through it and are still standing still and proud until today. That was the end of the book, so the true ending is indefinite. But that won't be the end of my blog, don't worry. There'll always be more books and more summaries, I can (almost) guarantee you that. Until the next post, then. Goodbye for now!
First, we saw Topiary get arrested by the po-po for hacking. As you may recall, he was caught red-handed with some evidence of his hacking actions (if you remember, he did not take enough safety precautions to keep his hacking reputation hidden from the prying eyes of the authorities. Therefore, the police easily dug up the data they needed to prove Topiary a guilty, no-good hacker.
Then we saw Sabu and the accusations he had to withstand. As a prisoner for the authorities, he was forced to work for the FBI, resulting in his ratting out of the many "significant" hackers of Anonymous, among them Topiary. He also faced some insults from inside hacking world, such as messages from different hackers that he "ratted his friends out". Predictably, Sabu attempted to deny this, saying that he didn't "rat out" his friends (honestly, I don't know what he could've said after doing that).
And finally, the hacker Kayla was also arrested. "Kayla" was proven to be Ryan Mark Ackroyd, an ex-military hacker. However, a few pages later it is stated that Ryan was framed (in a way). It turns out that, despite doing a few despicable acts that have been reported to be done by Kayla, didn't do ALL of the crimes. So the hnt for the real Kayla still continues.
In the end, it turns out that, despite all the hardships experienced by the Anons, they managed to live through it and are still standing still and proud until today. That was the end of the book, so the true ending is indefinite. But that won't be the end of my blog, don't worry. There'll always be more books and more summaries, I can (almost) guarantee you that. Until the next post, then. Goodbye for now!
Friday, May 30, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 27
Hey guys, and welcome to the FINAL CHAPTER of We Are Anonymous. In this chapter, we will find out what happened to the world-famous Anonymous (and their top leaders). Did they manage to survive the countless waves of cops and somehow keep their reputation as one of the world's best hacking organizations? Or will they give in to the authorities, just like Sabu and Topiary? Well, don't let me hold you any longer, here's what happened...
In this chapter, the authorities take care of one more loose end: Kayla. Like all the other Anonymous, she too, eventually got down to the ground. And the interesting thing was that "she" was actually a "he". Yes, you read that right; Kayla is a GUY. On September 2, 2011, the Feds pulled up near a house in South Yorkshire. They found a 25-year old man named Ryan Mark Ackroyd, who turned out to be the notorious Kayla all along. Needless to say, the cops arrested him.
Ackroyd was an ex-British infantryman, who had served for four years, mainly in Iraq, which may have explained his outstanding hacking skills. The police also revealed that Sabu, one of the greatest Anons, was an informant to the police (he spilled the beans on Kayla's true identity). Sabu also compromised the identity of five other Anons. The news headlines were blaring, "Infamous International Hacking Group Brought Down By Own Leader" and an FBI official said that "We're chopping off the head of Anonymous". Emick also had a field day, and used it as an opportunity to show the whole world that Anonymous was no longer existent on the face of the Earth.
And Emick's statement seemed to ring true. As it seems, Anonymous members were getting arrested left and right. In Anonymous, it seemed like you couldn't be a famous hacker without getting the cops on your tail or even worse, get arrested (which, in the leaders' cases, was what happened). If it was that easy to catch a hacker leader, imagine how easy it was to catch the typical Anon hacker/supporter. As a matter of fact, in a protest in September 2011, 6800 people involved in a protest supporting Anonymous were arrested by the cops.
Despite the invaluable tips they got from Sabu, the FBI hadn't succeeded in getting Anonymous to give up. Instead, they decided to launch a sort of "counterattack" against various companies. Their recent series of arrests because of Sabu has led them to distrust in their hacker friends much more. New and skilled splinter groups of hackers risen in the wake of the crumbling of Anonymous.
Oh yeah, I think I forgot to tell you... it turned out that the authorities haven't arrested the real Kayla yet (honestly, how far will this "secret identity" thing go?). It turns out that although Ackroyd was a likely suspect (doing part of the hacks that "Kayla" did), but not the authentic hacker the cops were looking for. Emick posted that they haven't caught the real Kayla yet and were still hot on her trail. Additionally, Topiary made an impressive article online. It was about whaty had happened in Anonymous lately and most importantly, it sent a message to the public that Anonymous will not go down that easily. It was one impressive piece of work, and until today Anonymous is still hiding somewhere, hiding right under our noses.
That's all for the We Are Anonymous book. I really hoped that it helped you about knowledge about the world-known hacking group. I'll think of another book someday, but until then, goodbye and see you until the next post!
In this chapter, the authorities take care of one more loose end: Kayla. Like all the other Anonymous, she too, eventually got down to the ground. And the interesting thing was that "she" was actually a "he". Yes, you read that right; Kayla is a GUY. On September 2, 2011, the Feds pulled up near a house in South Yorkshire. They found a 25-year old man named Ryan Mark Ackroyd, who turned out to be the notorious Kayla all along. Needless to say, the cops arrested him.
Ackroyd was an ex-British infantryman, who had served for four years, mainly in Iraq, which may have explained his outstanding hacking skills. The police also revealed that Sabu, one of the greatest Anons, was an informant to the police (he spilled the beans on Kayla's true identity). Sabu also compromised the identity of five other Anons. The news headlines were blaring, "Infamous International Hacking Group Brought Down By Own Leader" and an FBI official said that "We're chopping off the head of Anonymous". Emick also had a field day, and used it as an opportunity to show the whole world that Anonymous was no longer existent on the face of the Earth.
And Emick's statement seemed to ring true. As it seems, Anonymous members were getting arrested left and right. In Anonymous, it seemed like you couldn't be a famous hacker without getting the cops on your tail or even worse, get arrested (which, in the leaders' cases, was what happened). If it was that easy to catch a hacker leader, imagine how easy it was to catch the typical Anon hacker/supporter. As a matter of fact, in a protest in September 2011, 6800 people involved in a protest supporting Anonymous were arrested by the cops.
Despite the invaluable tips they got from Sabu, the FBI hadn't succeeded in getting Anonymous to give up. Instead, they decided to launch a sort of "counterattack" against various companies. Their recent series of arrests because of Sabu has led them to distrust in their hacker friends much more. New and skilled splinter groups of hackers risen in the wake of the crumbling of Anonymous.
Oh yeah, I think I forgot to tell you... it turned out that the authorities haven't arrested the real Kayla yet (honestly, how far will this "secret identity" thing go?). It turns out that although Ackroyd was a likely suspect (doing part of the hacks that "Kayla" did), but not the authentic hacker the cops were looking for. Emick posted that they haven't caught the real Kayla yet and were still hot on her trail. Additionally, Topiary made an impressive article online. It was about whaty had happened in Anonymous lately and most importantly, it sent a message to the public that Anonymous will not go down that easily. It was one impressive piece of work, and until today Anonymous is still hiding somewhere, hiding right under our noses.
That's all for the We Are Anonymous book. I really hoped that it helped you about knowledge about the world-known hacking group. I'll think of another book someday, but until then, goodbye and see you until the next post!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 25
Hello guys, and welcome back once again to another summary of We Are Anonymous. We have ventured far into the story of Anonymous, but unfortunately our journey through the hacking world has come to an end. Sabu arrested, LulzSec disbanded, and worst of all, THERE ARE ONLY 3 CHAPTERS LEFT IN THE BOOK! NO!!! So hold on tight. We are going to find out what happens in the final chapters of the book and the epic conclusion that awaits us at the final chapter.
What will happen in the end? Will Anonymous get disbanded as well? Will our heroes (I mean, hackers) survive the oncoming waves of the Feds and the special forces? Or will their identity eventually be compromised by the authorities? Well, we'll all find out at the end of the book. BUT... this is still the 3rd last chapter of the book, so without further ado, why not I just stop talking and get on with the summary? Anyway, the chapter begins in Topiary's point of view...
This chapter, sadly, discusses about Topiary's downfall. One fateful day, the Metropolitan police (or at least, some people who claimed to be with them) decided to go to Jake's house and bust him. The Feds had enough evidence to arrest him, as Topiary didn't think about wiping his incriminating documents (don't ask me how he forgot/didn't feel the need to do THAT) from his computer. He kicked himself for not doing that, and although the data in his computer's hard drive was encrypted, the cops easily extracted the encryption password from him as easy as one, two, three. Needless to say, Topiary was arrested, and Sabu posted "RIP Topiary" on his Twitter feed.
It was quite confusing when you think of how Topiary, a hacker who had successfully laid low well out of the cops, managed to get tracked down to his remote house in his remote island home. Some people say that it was thanks to Sabu and his federal friends (remember, Sabu was arrested by the cops a few months back, so he probably didn't have much of a choice but to work with his new federal fiends (I mean, "friends"). As a skilled Anonymous hacker, he's capable of accomplishing great hacks and may be the reason behind Topiary's arrest (if you ask me, it's a bunch of nonsense, especially because Sabu has been with Topiary even AFTER he got arrested. But then again, Sabu didn't have much of a choice.
Anyway, back to Topiary. Still remember that dude William? You know, the young hacker who blackmailed his friends? Well, Topiary had a little chat with him in a pizza restaurant about the leak of LulzSec to the public. They talked about how influential Anonymous was to the public. With their (mostly Topiary's) assistance, the world is now a changed place. Lots of people look up to their legendary hacking skills, and have seen the Anons as role models.
Soon, chatting time was over and William had to hop onto a train to his next destination (God knows where that was, I either missed it/it wasn't mentioned in the book). While on the train, William decided to change (and not in such a good, "no-hacking" way, either). He wanted to amount to more than just a mischievous kid who yearned to wreak havoc in the Web by holding people's Web accounts at ransom for porn photos (yes, he actually did this). He wanted to be one of the legendary hackers with the hacking capability of LulzSec hackers, who performed feats that have changed the world.
So that's what happened. Topiary down with Sabu (although probably not in the doghouse like Sabu), leaving only one hacker left for the authorities to track down: Kayla. In the second-to-last chapter, will SHE survive the assault of the police? Or will she crumble and be brought down to her knees thanks to the Feds? Well, we'll find out in the next summary, but that's another chapter, another summary, another day. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed, given the closeness of our completion of the book. So anyway, goodbye people, and see you in the next post! Goodbye for now!
What will happen in the end? Will Anonymous get disbanded as well? Will our heroes (I mean, hackers) survive the oncoming waves of the Feds and the special forces? Or will their identity eventually be compromised by the authorities? Well, we'll all find out at the end of the book. BUT... this is still the 3rd last chapter of the book, so without further ado, why not I just stop talking and get on with the summary? Anyway, the chapter begins in Topiary's point of view...
This chapter, sadly, discusses about Topiary's downfall. One fateful day, the Metropolitan police (or at least, some people who claimed to be with them) decided to go to Jake's house and bust him. The Feds had enough evidence to arrest him, as Topiary didn't think about wiping his incriminating documents (don't ask me how he forgot/didn't feel the need to do THAT) from his computer. He kicked himself for not doing that, and although the data in his computer's hard drive was encrypted, the cops easily extracted the encryption password from him as easy as one, two, three. Needless to say, Topiary was arrested, and Sabu posted "RIP Topiary" on his Twitter feed.
It was quite confusing when you think of how Topiary, a hacker who had successfully laid low well out of the cops, managed to get tracked down to his remote house in his remote island home. Some people say that it was thanks to Sabu and his federal friends (remember, Sabu was arrested by the cops a few months back, so he probably didn't have much of a choice but to work with his new federal fiends (I mean, "friends"). As a skilled Anonymous hacker, he's capable of accomplishing great hacks and may be the reason behind Topiary's arrest (if you ask me, it's a bunch of nonsense, especially because Sabu has been with Topiary even AFTER he got arrested. But then again, Sabu didn't have much of a choice.
Anyway, back to Topiary. Still remember that dude William? You know, the young hacker who blackmailed his friends? Well, Topiary had a little chat with him in a pizza restaurant about the leak of LulzSec to the public. They talked about how influential Anonymous was to the public. With their (mostly Topiary's) assistance, the world is now a changed place. Lots of people look up to their legendary hacking skills, and have seen the Anons as role models.
Soon, chatting time was over and William had to hop onto a train to his next destination (God knows where that was, I either missed it/it wasn't mentioned in the book). While on the train, William decided to change (and not in such a good, "no-hacking" way, either). He wanted to amount to more than just a mischievous kid who yearned to wreak havoc in the Web by holding people's Web accounts at ransom for porn photos (yes, he actually did this). He wanted to be one of the legendary hackers with the hacking capability of LulzSec hackers, who performed feats that have changed the world.
So that's what happened. Topiary down with Sabu (although probably not in the doghouse like Sabu), leaving only one hacker left for the authorities to track down: Kayla. In the second-to-last chapter, will SHE survive the assault of the police? Or will she crumble and be brought down to her knees thanks to the Feds? Well, we'll find out in the next summary, but that's another chapter, another summary, another day. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed, given the closeness of our completion of the book. So anyway, goodbye people, and see you in the next post! Goodbye for now!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
We Are Anonymous Overall Summary Part Two
Hey guys, and welcome to another summary of We Are Anonymous. I've just completed Part 2/3 of the book, so why not go back a little and revise what has happened in the past chapters? So without further ado, here's an overall summary of what had happened in the chapters of part two of the book...
We learned about Anonymous's attack on the despicable Westboro Baptist Church ("God hates fags", remember?) . Still remember when Westboro attempted to trash-talk Anonymous into defeat? Well, that didn't really work out so well. Anonymous then decided to use the media (read: The David Pakman Show) against their enemies, and eventually, after defacing Westboro's website(s), managed to bring their opponent down and showed them as a disgrace to the public.
Then, after arousing some attention from the public, the members of Anonymous (namely Topiary) started to get invited to talk shows (where they talked only with their voice without their faces being shown for the sake of privacy). At the same time, we also discover that our ex-Anonymous pal (now turned Anonymous hater) Jennifer Emick is still hot on the trail of compromising the identities of the hackers and showing the world that Anonymous wasn't really anonymous if she could compromise the group's key leaders (if not the entire group) to the whole wide world.
Then the story (temporarily) switches to Emick's point of view. It shows her hard at work and apparently addicted to compromising the identities of her targets. Fortunately for her, the FBI was also on her side and they had formed some kind of alliance. And then we discover that Topiary is getting bored with the current Anonymous raids and decided to take it to the next level. Then, after a few tens of raids later, something VERY BIG happened.
A few chapters later, we discover that Sabu's reign as a hacker (well, an Anonymous hacker at least) has come to a potential end. He got arrested by the po-po for a few crimes sufficient enough to get him in the doghouse for at least several years. However, despite the loss of Sabu to the team, the hackers trudged on and contiued their hacking spree.
Oh yeah, and by the way, did I mention LulzSec? How stupid of me. As you may have remembered, the feds eventually caught up to the Anons with the assistance of the vengeful Jennifer Emick. Now Anonymous was in chaos and at least a few hundred suspects related to Anonymous are now in the big house. Fortunately, there were a few Anons who decided to let go of the hacking group and start a team of their own.
These people were the "main characters" of the book; Topiary, Sabu and Kayla. They had a hunch that something bad was about to go down in Anonymous, prompting them to go take cover while all the ruckus blows over. While doing so, they created LulzSec, a small team that, in the chapters that followed, had proved itself beyond question. It took down massive websites and companies, and all it took was the hacking skills of six people (at least until Sabu got arrested). They also made an alliance with Julian Assange (that also meant that WikiLeaks was also on their side).
However, all good things must eventually come to an end. The authorities eventually tracked down LulzSec and shut it down for good (or actually, come to think of it, shut it down for bad). And that was the end of the infamous LulzSec: the notorious hacking group eventually came to an end by their famed hunters: the FBI and the cops eventually caught up to the hackers and that was that. The fate of LulzSec's HACKERS, though, is still indefinite.
Well, that's a summary of what happened so far in part two. I will begin part 3 in just a few days, and it's a kind of epilogue to what has happened lately. Until then, you'll have to wait. Goodbye for now!
We learned about Anonymous's attack on the despicable Westboro Baptist Church ("God hates fags", remember?) . Still remember when Westboro attempted to trash-talk Anonymous into defeat? Well, that didn't really work out so well. Anonymous then decided to use the media (read: The David Pakman Show) against their enemies, and eventually, after defacing Westboro's website(s), managed to bring their opponent down and showed them as a disgrace to the public.
Then, after arousing some attention from the public, the members of Anonymous (namely Topiary) started to get invited to talk shows (where they talked only with their voice without their faces being shown for the sake of privacy). At the same time, we also discover that our ex-Anonymous pal (now turned Anonymous hater) Jennifer Emick is still hot on the trail of compromising the identities of the hackers and showing the world that Anonymous wasn't really anonymous if she could compromise the group's key leaders (if not the entire group) to the whole wide world.
Then the story (temporarily) switches to Emick's point of view. It shows her hard at work and apparently addicted to compromising the identities of her targets. Fortunately for her, the FBI was also on her side and they had formed some kind of alliance. And then we discover that Topiary is getting bored with the current Anonymous raids and decided to take it to the next level. Then, after a few tens of raids later, something VERY BIG happened.
A few chapters later, we discover that Sabu's reign as a hacker (well, an Anonymous hacker at least) has come to a potential end. He got arrested by the po-po for a few crimes sufficient enough to get him in the doghouse for at least several years. However, despite the loss of Sabu to the team, the hackers trudged on and contiued their hacking spree.
Oh yeah, and by the way, did I mention LulzSec? How stupid of me. As you may have remembered, the feds eventually caught up to the Anons with the assistance of the vengeful Jennifer Emick. Now Anonymous was in chaos and at least a few hundred suspects related to Anonymous are now in the big house. Fortunately, there were a few Anons who decided to let go of the hacking group and start a team of their own.
These people were the "main characters" of the book; Topiary, Sabu and Kayla. They had a hunch that something bad was about to go down in Anonymous, prompting them to go take cover while all the ruckus blows over. While doing so, they created LulzSec, a small team that, in the chapters that followed, had proved itself beyond question. It took down massive websites and companies, and all it took was the hacking skills of six people (at least until Sabu got arrested). They also made an alliance with Julian Assange (that also meant that WikiLeaks was also on their side).
However, all good things must eventually come to an end. The authorities eventually tracked down LulzSec and shut it down for good (or actually, come to think of it, shut it down for bad). And that was the end of the infamous LulzSec: the notorious hacking group eventually came to an end by their famed hunters: the FBI and the cops eventually caught up to the hackers and that was that. The fate of LulzSec's HACKERS, though, is still indefinite.
Well, that's a summary of what happened so far in part two. I will begin part 3 in just a few days, and it's a kind of epilogue to what has happened lately. Until then, you'll have to wait. Goodbye for now!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 24
Well people, this is the final chapter of Part 2 of We Are Anonymous. In this final epic chapter, we're going to find out what happened after all the awesome acts that LulzSec had made. Did the group get busted by the cops? Was it destroyed in the end? Well, in this chapter, let's find out!
It shocked the public (and probably you guys too) to know that Lulzsec wasn't actually a massive group of talented hackers that were working in unison to bring down famous websites and pull off difficult operations; it was a tiny group of six people. Imagine that! Six people working together and managing to bring down Fox, various corporations and governments.
In LulzSec's case, you didn't need an overcrowded organization of hackers in order to pull off phenomenal feats of hacking. LulzSec had something worth at least a few hundred peoples' hacking skills compiled into 6 people. Topiary even had a thought that Anonymous was like the more intelligent caveman, who would grief his enemies' houses at the dead of night. This caveman represented Anonymous; the superior people who had more brains than the average caveman at the time.
And anyway, don't think that just because LulzSec has been disbanded meant that it was their ultimate destruction. There were still some people in the world who were encouraged by the outstanding bravery and skill of our LulzSec hackers. These were the people who decided to split up into "splinter groups" which were basically smaller hacking groups avenging the downfall of LulzSec. They were a lot like the Anons and LulzSec, establishing their own ops, often in the name of Antisec (that anti-LulzSec group represented by the graffiti on a wall showing a crudely drawn guy in a top hat, remember?) and web activism. So although LulzSec was gone, its influence stayed forever.
These splinter groups have also managed to accomplish amazing feats of hacking; for example, they possess stolen data from a drug giant named "Pfitzer" and Wal-Mart.Meanwhile, Sabu was also busy "working" for the FBI, while actually aiding his fellow Anons tie up a few loose ends. At the same time, Topiary was also offering assistance to his fans, who appreciated his work and requested help for some operations they were currently doing.
Eventually, the media also caught up with Topiary and requested him to "appear" in their BBC and TV news shows via voice interviews, but regarding his safety concerns, he declined each and every one. He couldn't risk compromising his name with so much at stake. In fact, his pals decided to prank one of the world's largest people related to the media, who, in this case, was a man named Rupert Murdoch. The hackers hacked the company's website he worked for (theSun.co.uk) and made a joke about him. This way, the hackers just made a joke out of one of the world's most famous media men.
So that's the end of Part 2, everybody. LulzSec disbanded, but their influence there to stay forever. Now we are left with this question; will the smaller, splinter groups do a decent job upholding LulzSec's name, if not as good? Or will they not really live up to the expectations LulzSec die-hard fans? Well, the only way to find out is to see the next chapter, which will come out in a few days! Goodbye for now!
It shocked the public (and probably you guys too) to know that Lulzsec wasn't actually a massive group of talented hackers that were working in unison to bring down famous websites and pull off difficult operations; it was a tiny group of six people. Imagine that! Six people working together and managing to bring down Fox, various corporations and governments.
In LulzSec's case, you didn't need an overcrowded organization of hackers in order to pull off phenomenal feats of hacking. LulzSec had something worth at least a few hundred peoples' hacking skills compiled into 6 people. Topiary even had a thought that Anonymous was like the more intelligent caveman, who would grief his enemies' houses at the dead of night. This caveman represented Anonymous; the superior people who had more brains than the average caveman at the time.
And anyway, don't think that just because LulzSec has been disbanded meant that it was their ultimate destruction. There were still some people in the world who were encouraged by the outstanding bravery and skill of our LulzSec hackers. These were the people who decided to split up into "splinter groups" which were basically smaller hacking groups avenging the downfall of LulzSec. They were a lot like the Anons and LulzSec, establishing their own ops, often in the name of Antisec (that anti-LulzSec group represented by the graffiti on a wall showing a crudely drawn guy in a top hat, remember?) and web activism. So although LulzSec was gone, its influence stayed forever.
These splinter groups have also managed to accomplish amazing feats of hacking; for example, they possess stolen data from a drug giant named "Pfitzer" and Wal-Mart.Meanwhile, Sabu was also busy "working" for the FBI, while actually aiding his fellow Anons tie up a few loose ends. At the same time, Topiary was also offering assistance to his fans, who appreciated his work and requested help for some operations they were currently doing.
Eventually, the media also caught up with Topiary and requested him to "appear" in their BBC and TV news shows via voice interviews, but regarding his safety concerns, he declined each and every one. He couldn't risk compromising his name with so much at stake. In fact, his pals decided to prank one of the world's largest people related to the media, who, in this case, was a man named Rupert Murdoch. The hackers hacked the company's website he worked for (theSun.co.uk) and made a joke about him. This way, the hackers just made a joke out of one of the world's most famous media men.
So that's the end of Part 2, everybody. LulzSec disbanded, but their influence there to stay forever. Now we are left with this question; will the smaller, splinter groups do a decent job upholding LulzSec's name, if not as good? Or will they not really live up to the expectations LulzSec die-hard fans? Well, the only way to find out is to see the next chapter, which will come out in a few days! Goodbye for now!
Monday, May 5, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 23
Hey guys, and welcome to another summary of We Are Anonymous. Today, We are going to learn the fate of LulzSec. Last time, we saw Sabu get arrested and sent to prison and was reported to be working with the FBI. Despite this, LulzSec kept on hacking and pulled off great feats of hacking. Now you may be wondering, what'll happen next? Well, let's find out!
As a result of LulzSec's last assault, The hackers encountered more enemies. And more enemies meant more trouble for the hackers. These new hostiles were people from 4chan, who were jealous of LulzSec's amazing hacking raids. Plus, a few LulzSec fans went a bit too far by giving out Topiary's account details to the public. People everywhere used these account details to hack tons of website accounts everywhere. However, Topiary looked at the bright side, seeing this as an opportunity to get more fame from the public. Thanks to Topiary's optimistic point of view, LulzSec managed to get more control over their followers. So this was actually an opportunity for LulzSec!
Meanwhile, Ryan was getting even more annoying with his desperate pleas for attention in LulzSec while there was an organization named Antisec, a group ultimately dedicated to shutting down LulzSec once and for all. And Antisec wasn't an organization that worked for the good of the authorities, either. Antisec represented a renegade organization that was only made for destroying LulzSec. This was represented in black graffiti on a wall; a crudely drawn man in a top hat and a moustache.
Meanwhile, Ryan was also being suspected by the authorities for being a LulzSec hacker. He was at risk of being compromised by the government, who even arrived at Ryan's house and questioned his family about Ryan's potential habits as a hacker. In fact, the authorities even searched Ryan's room, which contained (other than multiple bags of potato chips, a bed and a window designed for blocking out the sunlight) about $11,340 in cash in a drawer on his desk. Topiary said that Ryan was absolutely #^(%=].
Meanwhile, LulzSec was back to their typical business. Clients were sending requests on more targets to hit. The requests contained mischievous details as well. For example, some details about a safe-driving campaign, ;) home addresses of Arizona police officers, and many more mischievous material that LulzSec can do serious damage with. However, LulzSec turned down the requests to bully the cops, mainly because it wasn't LulzSec's "style". They were vigilante hackers, not wannabe criminals.
Meanwhile, the FBI continued their ongoing pursuit to locate LulzSec, with no success. however, the hackers were also taking extra precautions now that the authorities have stepped up their game a bit. Sabu was secretly communicating with his LulzSec friends under the FBI's nose. He helpfully hinted that despite his current condition, he wanted the team to hold up even without him. It took a while for the team to let go of their captured friend, but he made it out eventually.
Sabu still gone, and not much has been happening in LulzSec lately. Will they eventually crush under the pressure? Or will they somehow, with some miracle, endure their current state and get a move on with their hacking life? Well, we'll find out in the next summary! Goodbye for now!
As a result of LulzSec's last assault, The hackers encountered more enemies. And more enemies meant more trouble for the hackers. These new hostiles were people from 4chan, who were jealous of LulzSec's amazing hacking raids. Plus, a few LulzSec fans went a bit too far by giving out Topiary's account details to the public. People everywhere used these account details to hack tons of website accounts everywhere. However, Topiary looked at the bright side, seeing this as an opportunity to get more fame from the public. Thanks to Topiary's optimistic point of view, LulzSec managed to get more control over their followers. So this was actually an opportunity for LulzSec!
Meanwhile, Ryan was getting even more annoying with his desperate pleas for attention in LulzSec while there was an organization named Antisec, a group ultimately dedicated to shutting down LulzSec once and for all. And Antisec wasn't an organization that worked for the good of the authorities, either. Antisec represented a renegade organization that was only made for destroying LulzSec. This was represented in black graffiti on a wall; a crudely drawn man in a top hat and a moustache.
Meanwhile, Ryan was also being suspected by the authorities for being a LulzSec hacker. He was at risk of being compromised by the government, who even arrived at Ryan's house and questioned his family about Ryan's potential habits as a hacker. In fact, the authorities even searched Ryan's room, which contained (other than multiple bags of potato chips, a bed and a window designed for blocking out the sunlight) about $11,340 in cash in a drawer on his desk. Topiary said that Ryan was absolutely #^(%=].
Meanwhile, LulzSec was back to their typical business. Clients were sending requests on more targets to hit. The requests contained mischievous details as well. For example, some details about a safe-driving campaign, ;) home addresses of Arizona police officers, and many more mischievous material that LulzSec can do serious damage with. However, LulzSec turned down the requests to bully the cops, mainly because it wasn't LulzSec's "style". They were vigilante hackers, not wannabe criminals.
Meanwhile, the FBI continued their ongoing pursuit to locate LulzSec, with no success. however, the hackers were also taking extra precautions now that the authorities have stepped up their game a bit. Sabu was secretly communicating with his LulzSec friends under the FBI's nose. He helpfully hinted that despite his current condition, he wanted the team to hold up even without him. It took a while for the team to let go of their captured friend, but he made it out eventually.
Sabu still gone, and not much has been happening in LulzSec lately. Will they eventually crush under the pressure? Or will they somehow, with some miracle, endure their current state and get a move on with their hacking life? Well, we'll find out in the next summary! Goodbye for now!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 22
Hey guys, and welcome back to more We Are Anonymous summaries. Today, we are going to find out what happened to lulzSec after the unfortunate capture of Sabu. Maybe they went paranoid and decided to lay low? I don't know. So don't let me hold you back, let's just get straight into it, shall we?
After Sabu's arrest, the team decided to take extra safety precautions. They didn't know that Sabu was actually arrested, news about that hadn't reached them yet. So they decided to kill off his IRC account after an unusually long period of time being idle (just in case the cops were watching) and took a few other precaution. Finally, Topiary received a call from the long-gone hacker. Topiary was so relieved to hear Sabu's voice again, he didn't even care to check if the call was being logged by the authorities (which, by the way, they were doing).
After the call with Sabu, Topiary decided to take a few more precautions by re-encrypting and typing new passwords for his various Web accounts. Meanwhile, Sabu was revealed to be made into a FBI agent after his short period in prison. He tried to spend as short time as possible online as to not compromise the identity of his fellow hackers. Topiary was also experiencing some trouble in his real life. For instance, a druggie told him that the cops were looking for him at his house. All this made Topiary more cautious and arrange his house to be as normal as possible.
Meanwhile in LulzSec, a new member joined the hackers; a hacker named Ryan. He was quite a skilled hacker, assisting in the hosting of Encyclopedia Dramatica and made his online life look like that of a millionaire (in real life, he wasn't really rich). Despite a few mischievous deeds he did in the past (and believe me, there were a few that involved Anonymous), Topiary became quickly interested in Ryan, and welcomed him to the team. While doing so, he also managed to do something that he wanted the Anons to do from a long time ago; make their hacking raids more interesting (making prank calls, intercating with the public, etc). This idea made LulzSec more interesting to the public, and also resulted in more followers (LulzSec, of course, stayed incognito).
Ryan also played a part in the hacks; he possessed an extremely powerful botnet that was capable of hacking a ton of different websites, such as the gaming company Bethesda. The team also used the botnet to help Julian Assange (if you remember, he was a founding member of WikiLeaks) and give him a bit of relief. How? They attacked the CIA, who, by some weird coincidence, was one of WikiLeaks' hunters at the time. In response to this selfless act, Assange and his "assistant" decided to meet with Sabu (I don't know if at this time, he was still under the command of the FBI or not) and Topiary about further operations.
Finally, LulzSec settled upon joining forces with WikiLeaks, searching through encrypted files for any sign of government corruption for Assange and the WikiLeaks team. And with that the chapter ends. What do you think will happen next? Will the alliance carry on any further? Or will LulzSec eventually go back to their normal business? Find out in the next summary, OK? Hope you guys aren't too mad! Goodbye!
After Sabu's arrest, the team decided to take extra safety precautions. They didn't know that Sabu was actually arrested, news about that hadn't reached them yet. So they decided to kill off his IRC account after an unusually long period of time being idle (just in case the cops were watching) and took a few other precaution. Finally, Topiary received a call from the long-gone hacker. Topiary was so relieved to hear Sabu's voice again, he didn't even care to check if the call was being logged by the authorities (which, by the way, they were doing).
After the call with Sabu, Topiary decided to take a few more precautions by re-encrypting and typing new passwords for his various Web accounts. Meanwhile, Sabu was revealed to be made into a FBI agent after his short period in prison. He tried to spend as short time as possible online as to not compromise the identity of his fellow hackers. Topiary was also experiencing some trouble in his real life. For instance, a druggie told him that the cops were looking for him at his house. All this made Topiary more cautious and arrange his house to be as normal as possible.
Meanwhile in LulzSec, a new member joined the hackers; a hacker named Ryan. He was quite a skilled hacker, assisting in the hosting of Encyclopedia Dramatica and made his online life look like that of a millionaire (in real life, he wasn't really rich). Despite a few mischievous deeds he did in the past (and believe me, there were a few that involved Anonymous), Topiary became quickly interested in Ryan, and welcomed him to the team. While doing so, he also managed to do something that he wanted the Anons to do from a long time ago; make their hacking raids more interesting (making prank calls, intercating with the public, etc). This idea made LulzSec more interesting to the public, and also resulted in more followers (LulzSec, of course, stayed incognito).
Ryan also played a part in the hacks; he possessed an extremely powerful botnet that was capable of hacking a ton of different websites, such as the gaming company Bethesda. The team also used the botnet to help Julian Assange (if you remember, he was a founding member of WikiLeaks) and give him a bit of relief. How? They attacked the CIA, who, by some weird coincidence, was one of WikiLeaks' hunters at the time. In response to this selfless act, Assange and his "assistant" decided to meet with Sabu (I don't know if at this time, he was still under the command of the FBI or not) and Topiary about further operations.
Finally, LulzSec settled upon joining forces with WikiLeaks, searching through encrypted files for any sign of government corruption for Assange and the WikiLeaks team. And with that the chapter ends. What do you think will happen next? Will the alliance carry on any further? Or will LulzSec eventually go back to their normal business? Find out in the next summary, OK? Hope you guys aren't too mad! Goodbye!
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 21
Hey people, and welcome back to more summaries of We Are Anonymous. In this chapter, LulzSec will proceed with their mischievous antics with more websites in the public. So many websites have been attacked by the hackers, what other website can be targeted? Well, we're about to find out! Here's what happened after the dust cleared from the recent Anon attack...
Kayla apparently had some trouble adjusting to the more "important" attacks for her team. She was more interested in assaulting LulzSec's nemesises such as the Jester and other rival hacker teams. What's new with the team? Well, LulzSec had just been placed on the NATO's and FBI's hit list, who are now officially hunting them down. The Pentagon had also issued an order (apparently because of the recent cyber-attacks) that any cyber-attack from other countries will be considered as an act of war and can be retaliated with traditional military forces.
Of course, the Anons were too used to this, they even made fun of their hunters. In fact, they replaced one of the FBI's websites with a video of a drunk man in a disco. They also did a few more hilarious changes to the authorities' websites, such as calling NATO's initials "National Agency of Tiny Origamis". Yep, that's just how mad the Anons were about the American authorities treating hacking as an act of war. They even hacked an FBI website, leaked its user base and defaced it (the website, that is). This wasn't actually an act of vengeance toward America's "act of war" law about hacking, although because of correct timing of the attack the media said it was.
Meanwhile, Hijazi (remember that white hat hacker company from the last chapter?) was at the breaking point. LulzSec had information about Hijazi about some cruel act that Hijazi was involved in. At first, the white hat refused to pay the Anons to keep silent, but eventually he gave in. Also, LulzSec had declared war on the United States (or at least part of it). To do this, they utilized a virtual private network to communicate undercover. However, there were some leaks in LulzSec's operation. For example, there were a few security leaks that proved that LulzSec wasn't exactly the skilled hacking team, but fortunately the flaws weren't big enough to stain LulzSec's reputation as a legendary hacking team.
There were also other hackers in the military who showed that they meant business; thye were often close to compromising some of LulzSec's members (fortunately for them, the identities weren't confirmed). Meanwhile around America, there were rumors about LulzSec's origins. Some people said that LulzSec hailed from China as agents for a cyber-war against the States. And then for some reason, the LulzSec members received Bitcoin donations. The donations were $7800 in total, which caused some commotion in the group. Nevertheless, the hackers decided to split up the money and also used it to invest for their new servers.
However, some bad news followed the attacks; some cops approached Sabu's house and arrested the hacker, causing a big loss to LulzSec. The media was also catching up to what was happening in LulzSec, such as the Fox assault and a few other impressive raids. Meanwhile, the Anons were noticing something fishy about what was happening. They thought that all these activities in the public was the beginning of something bad and was about to get worse. For a start, Sabu was arrested (fortunately, he was arrested for other crimes than hacking, so at least his real profession wasn't compromised yet), and LulzSec had been a whole lot less confident in hacking without him.
Sabu arrested, and LulzSec hunted down by the authorities. And not just by old-timey policemen; we're talking FBI agents and the army. Sooner or later, the team's got to cave in, mainly in light of the things that have happened lately. Or will they rise and dodge the cops? Will they live to hack another day? Or will they finally be caught and sent to jail, just like Sabu? Find out in the next chapter. For now, GOODBYE!
Kayla apparently had some trouble adjusting to the more "important" attacks for her team. She was more interested in assaulting LulzSec's nemesises such as the Jester and other rival hacker teams. What's new with the team? Well, LulzSec had just been placed on the NATO's and FBI's hit list, who are now officially hunting them down. The Pentagon had also issued an order (apparently because of the recent cyber-attacks) that any cyber-attack from other countries will be considered as an act of war and can be retaliated with traditional military forces.
Of course, the Anons were too used to this, they even made fun of their hunters. In fact, they replaced one of the FBI's websites with a video of a drunk man in a disco. They also did a few more hilarious changes to the authorities' websites, such as calling NATO's initials "National Agency of Tiny Origamis". Yep, that's just how mad the Anons were about the American authorities treating hacking as an act of war. They even hacked an FBI website, leaked its user base and defaced it (the website, that is). This wasn't actually an act of vengeance toward America's "act of war" law about hacking, although because of correct timing of the attack the media said it was.
Meanwhile, Hijazi (remember that white hat hacker company from the last chapter?) was at the breaking point. LulzSec had information about Hijazi about some cruel act that Hijazi was involved in. At first, the white hat refused to pay the Anons to keep silent, but eventually he gave in. Also, LulzSec had declared war on the United States (or at least part of it). To do this, they utilized a virtual private network to communicate undercover. However, there were some leaks in LulzSec's operation. For example, there were a few security leaks that proved that LulzSec wasn't exactly the skilled hacking team, but fortunately the flaws weren't big enough to stain LulzSec's reputation as a legendary hacking team.
There were also other hackers in the military who showed that they meant business; thye were often close to compromising some of LulzSec's members (fortunately for them, the identities weren't confirmed). Meanwhile around America, there were rumors about LulzSec's origins. Some people said that LulzSec hailed from China as agents for a cyber-war against the States. And then for some reason, the LulzSec members received Bitcoin donations. The donations were $7800 in total, which caused some commotion in the group. Nevertheless, the hackers decided to split up the money and also used it to invest for their new servers.
However, some bad news followed the attacks; some cops approached Sabu's house and arrested the hacker, causing a big loss to LulzSec. The media was also catching up to what was happening in LulzSec, such as the Fox assault and a few other impressive raids. Meanwhile, the Anons were noticing something fishy about what was happening. They thought that all these activities in the public was the beginning of something bad and was about to get worse. For a start, Sabu was arrested (fortunately, he was arrested for other crimes than hacking, so at least his real profession wasn't compromised yet), and LulzSec had been a whole lot less confident in hacking without him.
Sabu arrested, and LulzSec hunted down by the authorities. And not just by old-timey policemen; we're talking FBI agents and the army. Sooner or later, the team's got to cave in, mainly in light of the things that have happened lately. Or will they rise and dodge the cops? Will they live to hack another day? Or will they finally be caught and sent to jail, just like Sabu? Find out in the next chapter. For now, GOODBYE!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 20
Hey people, and welcome back to more summaries of We Are Anonymous. Where we left off, LulzSec just pulled off an impressive assault on LulzSec's enemies. We were left at a cliffhanging conclusion; what will the Anons do next? Well, here it is; the moment we've all been waiting for. Today we're going to find out what happens in chapter 20, so without further ado, let's get straight to it!
The chapter starts off with LulzSec's list of targets getting larger and larger. More vulnerabilities on the Internet were getting revealed. The Anons were looking for a BIG vulnerability that would lead to a BIG company being harrassed, and they found a great potential target; Sony. Sony, as you know, was a big company excelling in selling various home electronics such as TVs and the like. LulzSec decided to play around with it a bit by stealing a ton of data from Sony's servers: 3.5 million music coupons, user details of hundreds of thousands of Sony user accounts, there was a trove of treasure hidden under that website (underneath security that LulzSec was intelligent enough to crack).
For the hackers, Sony had a fatal weakness: First of all, all the passwords, usernames and classified user details were typed in PLAINTEXT. The only people who had encrypted user details were the admins, and this wasn't such a problem for LulzSec because they managed to decrypt it anyway. After robbing another batch of 3.5 million music coupons, taking care of the music codes and the admin tables, the hackers spent THREE WEEKS compiling their stolen databases and downloading them. After doing all these, they decided to get all this loot online, causing mass ruckus within the public.
The hackers have been working day and night on this massive project. No matter what time zone a hacker was in, he stayed up with other hackers' time zones to complete the job together. With the combined help of the hackers, they made a Sony database full of Sony products that weren't supposed to be released yet (you could imagine Sony's outrage). However, the hackers also had to protect their precious database from potential DDoS attacks from enemy hackers, which could prove fatal. Needless to say, they succeeded in doing this and received tons of other followers in their Twitter account.
After the Sony assault, LulzSec proceeded with stealing e-mails from other databases. Meanwhile, Emick reveals that another reason Sabu was resentful was because of a job he didn't succeed in qualifying. Sabu was also revealed to despise "white hat" hackers (hackers that did hacking for non-malicious reasons), apparently after a bad experience with them. This was the reason Sabu really wanted to qualify in a new assault on the Internet; Hijazi. Hijazi was known for hunting down malicious botnets, making a good sum of money doing so.
To do this, they decided to try a different technique: Misdirection. They posed as innocent people who gave tips to Hijazi. Sabu and Topiary played a big role in this. With the assistance of a new hacker named Fox, they managed to extort some data from Hijazi. The rest of the chapter was about LulzSec's discussion about how things were going on in the Web. Apparently they were discussing about any vulnerabilities on the Web and how they could exploit them.
Well, that concludes another day in the life of a typical LulzSec hacker. I wonder what other website they'll hack next? What new enemy will be lurking in the shadows for them? Well, we'll just have to find out in the next chapter. Goodbye for now!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 19
Hey guys, and today we are back with more We Are Anonymous summaries. Now at that last summary, I was leaving you at a cliffhanging point of the book; after their masive assault on the PBS network, the hackers' fate was unknown. At least until today. Today we are going to discover the fate of these legendary hackers and what happened to them next. So without further ado, why not we find out what DID happen to the Anons?
As you may have guessed, at the beginning of the chapter the Anons have received some newfound fame. With this newfound fame came a new and pretty powerful enemy; an ex-military hacker dubbed "The Jester". This hacker was known for his notoriety with Anonymous, mainly because of his participation in a recent DDoS attack on WikiLeaks. Shortly afterwards (for some unknown reason), he helped take down the Westboro Baptist Church's websites (remember that Church that patrolled around cities with signs saying "God Hates Fags" everywhere? Yep, that was them).
After the assault on PBS, the Anons decided they needed to "upgrade" their little hacking group. Firstly, they needed to add an IRC channel. This would act as their "mission control". They also needed to get EVEN MORE crew for their hacking antics, which were also getting bigger and better. And while they were at it, they decided to research a bit more about vulnerabilities on the web that they could attack and narrowed down the potential hackers that could join LulzSec (by the way, if you were wondering, the hackers refused to allow their friends to join LulzSec, mainly because they would want to leak the classified information all over the place).
After getting some veteran hackers to join their team, there was an attack on LulzSec; a Twitter account named FailSec had nested a few hundred followers, supposedly for any LulzSec haters. It turns out that the account was also used to give away hints leading to the team's whereabouts, eventually (if not stopped) leading to arrest. They discovered the perpetrator; Private Bradley Manning, who also attempted to stop the Anons from using LulzSec.com as an HQ.
The Anons then decided to go after the Jester, who has been an increasingly annoying pain in the butt over the last few days. He constantly attempted to compromise the Anons' identities, making him a priority target. For this, the Anons decided to launch a DoS attack on the pest and his minions. A DoS attack was basically a DDoS attack, only with the front "D" removed ("D" for "distributed"), so this meant that the DoS attack was piloted by A SINGLE computer instead of multiple ones, unlike a typical DDoS attack.
However, the hacker piloting the DoS attack (just an FYI, his online name's Storm) was also assisted by a few other elite hackers such as Topiary and Kayla. These hackers were responsible for checking out the status of the downed websites every now and then. To make a long hacking operation short, the hackers managed to take down the Jester's (and his followers') websites and leak it on the Internet (before they leaked the website, they put the website back on. Yes, you can actually do this).
With that, another annoying website on the Internet has been downed by the skilled hackers. They then issued to LulzSec to keep their team as tight-knit as possible. However, popularity was rising, and you know the rule; more popularity, more criticism. But as we have seen with all the previous stunts the Anons have pulled, we're pretty sure they'll make it out of this one all alive and well. Or will they? Well, the only way to find out is... (drumroll) FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! But for now, goodbye!
As you may have guessed, at the beginning of the chapter the Anons have received some newfound fame. With this newfound fame came a new and pretty powerful enemy; an ex-military hacker dubbed "The Jester". This hacker was known for his notoriety with Anonymous, mainly because of his participation in a recent DDoS attack on WikiLeaks. Shortly afterwards (for some unknown reason), he helped take down the Westboro Baptist Church's websites (remember that Church that patrolled around cities with signs saying "God Hates Fags" everywhere? Yep, that was them).
After the assault on PBS, the Anons decided they needed to "upgrade" their little hacking group. Firstly, they needed to add an IRC channel. This would act as their "mission control". They also needed to get EVEN MORE crew for their hacking antics, which were also getting bigger and better. And while they were at it, they decided to research a bit more about vulnerabilities on the web that they could attack and narrowed down the potential hackers that could join LulzSec (by the way, if you were wondering, the hackers refused to allow their friends to join LulzSec, mainly because they would want to leak the classified information all over the place).
After getting some veteran hackers to join their team, there was an attack on LulzSec; a Twitter account named FailSec had nested a few hundred followers, supposedly for any LulzSec haters. It turns out that the account was also used to give away hints leading to the team's whereabouts, eventually (if not stopped) leading to arrest. They discovered the perpetrator; Private Bradley Manning, who also attempted to stop the Anons from using LulzSec.com as an HQ.
The Anons then decided to go after the Jester, who has been an increasingly annoying pain in the butt over the last few days. He constantly attempted to compromise the Anons' identities, making him a priority target. For this, the Anons decided to launch a DoS attack on the pest and his minions. A DoS attack was basically a DDoS attack, only with the front "D" removed ("D" for "distributed"), so this meant that the DoS attack was piloted by A SINGLE computer instead of multiple ones, unlike a typical DDoS attack.
However, the hacker piloting the DoS attack (just an FYI, his online name's Storm) was also assisted by a few other elite hackers such as Topiary and Kayla. These hackers were responsible for checking out the status of the downed websites every now and then. To make a long hacking operation short, the hackers managed to take down the Jester's (and his followers') websites and leak it on the Internet (before they leaked the website, they put the website back on. Yes, you can actually do this).
With that, another annoying website on the Internet has been downed by the skilled hackers. They then issued to LulzSec to keep their team as tight-knit as possible. However, popularity was rising, and you know the rule; more popularity, more criticism. But as we have seen with all the previous stunts the Anons have pulled, we're pretty sure they'll make it out of this one all alive and well. Or will they? Well, the only way to find out is... (drumroll) FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! But for now, goodbye!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 18
Hey guys and girls, and welcome back to more We Are Anonymous summaries. After the rise of a tiny hacking group, what will they do next? Will they prove their immense power online or wait for the right time to strike? Well, I'm not going to leave you guys in suspense now that we're going to find out anyway, so this is what happened:
The chapter opens with the Anons planning to use Twitter as a weapon to promote their popularity in the online world. (in case you forgot, this new hacking group was named "LulzSec") "How?" you may ask. Well, that's simple. Remember that small attack on Fox that Anonymous conducted a chapter ago? That's how. LulzSec started to offend Fox publicly, calling the online world and Anonymous to join in on insulting Fox. This way, they could attract a ton of attention from many people around the Internet, and in no time LulzSec received tons of followers.
LulzSec was getting so popular, even ex-Anonymous haters joined their Twitter. One of these amazing examples were Aaron Barr (yes, you heard that right. The exact same dude who was the victim of the first Anonymous attack in history), who had quit his job as a security executive and turned into a LulzSec supporter. In fact, as a supporter of Anonymous, he helped the Anons compromise three thousand ATM machines, stole Fox databases, and many other things that proved invaluable for the Anons. Quite amazing for a guy who used to work in an Internet security company.
Meanwhile, Topiary was maintaining a tighter relationship with Kayla. Kayla was teaching Topiary new tips and tricks on how to cheat the Internet. In no time, Topiary has stocked his operating systems with a ridiculously huge amount of MP3 files (he filled the disks with up to 40 gigabytes worth of MP3 files), and had thousands of songs on his MP3 player. And this was all thanks to Kayla. Despite his relationship with Kayla, though, Topiary was still mystified with Kayla's methods of avoiding detection on the Internet (for instance, she would fool people into mistaking her current time zone by saying at 2:00 p.m.; "Just woke up, early morning XD).
While all this stuff was happening in the world of LulzSec, The Anons discovered a PBS news program named "Frontline" showed a documentary about a topic the Anons really detested: The "crimes" of Julian Assange (who, by the way, is the creator of WikiLeaks). For this, the hackers launched an assault on Frontline's PBS network and wreaked havoc; They added irrelevant memes on the website, went prank-calling the PBS networks and other mischievous acts. Sure enough, this was sufficient to convince the online world that Frontline had been dealt with.
To end the chapter, the Anons decided to make sure that Frontline had been dealt with once and for all. For this, they prepared for the grand finale, which was to make a final web page insulting Frontline. They timed this attack perfectly, for it was Labor Day, the day where hardly any exciting events happened. This was a slow day for the newspapers, so at the mention of Frontline's current condition, the news were eager to (possibly) exaggerate it and show this news to the world, which also meant the people who didn't really use the Internet.
Another day, another successful attack. At this rate, LulzSec would attract the attention of the world in a matter of DAYS. I wonder what'll happen next? Another attack? Or will they lay low to evade the authorities and keep them off their trail? Well, we'll find out later. Goodbye for now!
The chapter opens with the Anons planning to use Twitter as a weapon to promote their popularity in the online world. (in case you forgot, this new hacking group was named "LulzSec") "How?" you may ask. Well, that's simple. Remember that small attack on Fox that Anonymous conducted a chapter ago? That's how. LulzSec started to offend Fox publicly, calling the online world and Anonymous to join in on insulting Fox. This way, they could attract a ton of attention from many people around the Internet, and in no time LulzSec received tons of followers.
LulzSec was getting so popular, even ex-Anonymous haters joined their Twitter. One of these amazing examples were Aaron Barr (yes, you heard that right. The exact same dude who was the victim of the first Anonymous attack in history), who had quit his job as a security executive and turned into a LulzSec supporter. In fact, as a supporter of Anonymous, he helped the Anons compromise three thousand ATM machines, stole Fox databases, and many other things that proved invaluable for the Anons. Quite amazing for a guy who used to work in an Internet security company.
Meanwhile, Topiary was maintaining a tighter relationship with Kayla. Kayla was teaching Topiary new tips and tricks on how to cheat the Internet. In no time, Topiary has stocked his operating systems with a ridiculously huge amount of MP3 files (he filled the disks with up to 40 gigabytes worth of MP3 files), and had thousands of songs on his MP3 player. And this was all thanks to Kayla. Despite his relationship with Kayla, though, Topiary was still mystified with Kayla's methods of avoiding detection on the Internet (for instance, she would fool people into mistaking her current time zone by saying at 2:00 p.m.; "Just woke up, early morning XD).
While all this stuff was happening in the world of LulzSec, The Anons discovered a PBS news program named "Frontline" showed a documentary about a topic the Anons really detested: The "crimes" of Julian Assange (who, by the way, is the creator of WikiLeaks). For this, the hackers launched an assault on Frontline's PBS network and wreaked havoc; They added irrelevant memes on the website, went prank-calling the PBS networks and other mischievous acts. Sure enough, this was sufficient to convince the online world that Frontline had been dealt with.
To end the chapter, the Anons decided to make sure that Frontline had been dealt with once and for all. For this, they prepared for the grand finale, which was to make a final web page insulting Frontline. They timed this attack perfectly, for it was Labor Day, the day where hardly any exciting events happened. This was a slow day for the newspapers, so at the mention of Frontline's current condition, the news were eager to (possibly) exaggerate it and show this news to the world, which also meant the people who didn't really use the Internet.
Another day, another successful attack. At this rate, LulzSec would attract the attention of the world in a matter of DAYS. I wonder what'll happen next? Another attack? Or will they lay low to evade the authorities and keep them off their trail? Well, we'll find out later. Goodbye for now!
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 17
Hey everybody, and welcome back to more We Are Anonymous summaries. Today we are going to discover what happened to that tight-knit, isolated Anonymous team that had no choice but to quit their group. Are they going to get pay those people who ratted their beloved hacker organization back, or are they going to lay low until they think the time is right? Well, don't let me stop you, let's find out!
The chapter starts off with our fellow hackers Topiary, Sabu and Kayla realizing that with all the chaos going on in their once controlled group Anonymous, it was time to turn their tiny group of hackers into a massive hacking organization, much like Anonymous used to be. To start, they decided to represent Anonymous by attacking the oppressors of free expression in order to start bringing order to the online world.
Kayla was a vital part of the group, being the one controlling a powerful web script (for those of you who don't know, a web script is a program that automatically scans websites on the Internet for ANY sign of vulnerability, any sign at all. The results were great. For instance, in the course of two days the script had already managed to come up with hundreds of thousands of user details on the Internet, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The next step was to recruit more hackers to join their cause in order to turn their tiny group of hackers into a populated community of hackers. For starters, they recruited people who "either didn't know what they were doing or solely wanted to steal from people". They also called in people who were having "family issues", any hacker that might fit in a description of a hacker. As a result, Anonymous finally had a good team of skilled up and ready to go against the world.
Then the hackers attacked the TV channel Fox, and discovered that the channel contained 73 thousand e-mail addresses and passwords for the employees and journalists in Fox who wanted to receive updates from the famous talent show The X Factor. The Anons decided to nest in there for a while, leeching tons of data from Fox while they were at it. "Why were the Anons attacking Fox?" you may ask. Well, the answer is that this channel was responsible for being a "right-wing media force" in the online world, and this was one thing that the online world really despised.
It took a week for Fox's IT team to notice the breach in the system, and by then the website was already heavily leaked. Topiary then quoted that the new hacking group was "more hardworking and respectful". Soon the hacking group was getting famous, attracting all kinds of attention from the public. It wasn't all day that the online world saw a small group of hackers capable of hacking famed websites and hacking for the people. They knew that this group was Anonymous material.
After all the dust cleared with Fox, it was the moment that the hackers were waiting for; time to reveal themselves to the world. They revealed themselves to the public as Lulzec, a "community of hackers who hated the drabness of the cyber-community". The online world now obviously knew that these new hackers were to change the world.
So what will happen next? Will the hackers continue their route or dump it in the sake of keeping their notoriety low? Well, whatever happens next, we'll find out later in the next chapter summary of We Are Anonymous. But for now, it's time to close this post. Goodbye!
The chapter starts off with our fellow hackers Topiary, Sabu and Kayla realizing that with all the chaos going on in their once controlled group Anonymous, it was time to turn their tiny group of hackers into a massive hacking organization, much like Anonymous used to be. To start, they decided to represent Anonymous by attacking the oppressors of free expression in order to start bringing order to the online world.
Kayla was a vital part of the group, being the one controlling a powerful web script (for those of you who don't know, a web script is a program that automatically scans websites on the Internet for ANY sign of vulnerability, any sign at all. The results were great. For instance, in the course of two days the script had already managed to come up with hundreds of thousands of user details on the Internet, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The next step was to recruit more hackers to join their cause in order to turn their tiny group of hackers into a populated community of hackers. For starters, they recruited people who "either didn't know what they were doing or solely wanted to steal from people". They also called in people who were having "family issues", any hacker that might fit in a description of a hacker. As a result, Anonymous finally had a good team of skilled up and ready to go against the world.
Then the hackers attacked the TV channel Fox, and discovered that the channel contained 73 thousand e-mail addresses and passwords for the employees and journalists in Fox who wanted to receive updates from the famous talent show The X Factor. The Anons decided to nest in there for a while, leeching tons of data from Fox while they were at it. "Why were the Anons attacking Fox?" you may ask. Well, the answer is that this channel was responsible for being a "right-wing media force" in the online world, and this was one thing that the online world really despised.
It took a week for Fox's IT team to notice the breach in the system, and by then the website was already heavily leaked. Topiary then quoted that the new hacking group was "more hardworking and respectful". Soon the hacking group was getting famous, attracting all kinds of attention from the public. It wasn't all day that the online world saw a small group of hackers capable of hacking famed websites and hacking for the people. They knew that this group was Anonymous material.
After all the dust cleared with Fox, it was the moment that the hackers were waiting for; time to reveal themselves to the world. They revealed themselves to the public as Lulzec, a "community of hackers who hated the drabness of the cyber-community". The online world now obviously knew that these new hackers were to change the world.
So what will happen next? Will the hackers continue their route or dump it in the sake of keeping their notoriety low? Well, whatever happens next, we'll find out later in the next chapter summary of We Are Anonymous. But for now, it's time to close this post. Goodbye!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 16
Hey people, and welcome back to more We Are Anonymous summaries. In this chapter, The ex-Anonymous members in the previous chapter have started to think of starting a revolution against those who have leaked their identities, insulted them, or did anything that was considered treacherous by the hackers. Topiary, Sabu and a few other hackers have decided to take revenge on those who have done bad to them. This is their story...
The story starts from Topiary's point of view. He is currently living the life of an Internet-less person, which meant he had more things to be done at home now that not much can be done online. He had time to iron his clothes, read long books, and most importantly, study at a local college. Some days he'd just sit in an Indian restaurant and treat himself with some curry and fries, bread and beer. He was now more active than he usually was now that he was away from the computer screen more often (although sometimes he DID spend some time at the computer, it wasn't much, just a few stuff related to social media and text messages), going out more and getting more activities done.
Meanwhile, Sabu got into a bit of a jam in his life. The feds almost busted him for looking extremely similar to "someone they were looking for", who was right there in front of their faces. The cops examined him and said that he looked extremely alike to the suspect (in the photo, Monsegur DID look like the guy in the photo, with the same tattoos and a few other similar characteristics). Sabu, who looked almost exactly alike to the suspect, was about to be brought in to the police station. Fortunately for the hacker, right when the cops were about to get him in the car, their radio said that they found ANOTHER "boy" who matched the suspect's picture. With that, Sabu was off the hook.
After that close call, Sabu decided to take a look at the facts about Anonymous. In his investigation, he realized that most people thought of the Anons as criminals, heroes, or just hackers looking for thrills. Sabu wanted to help the Anons make a project so big, it would change the way the skeptic people think about them. For this assignment, he would need a team of elite hackers capable of taking the heat of the giant project, and he knew just where to find these.
He invited Topiary and Kayla into the field, telling them that their assignment was to hack the FBI. Both hackers were excited with the idea of the project, and jumped right in. Together the three elite hackers mucked up the passwords of the FBI's important members' passwords. They would hack into their accounts and start making up new passwords (which, thanks to some hacking securities, would take up quite some time to fix up) while leeching e-mails (tens of thousands of them) that would give them access to PayPal accounts of FBI users. This was the perfect crime, and soon they were about to go public.
So that's the end of chapter 16. What will happen next, I wonder? Will the Anons succeed in showing off their great crime? Or will they (almost) get busted... AGAIN? Well, that'll come in the next summary. Goodbye for now!
The story starts from Topiary's point of view. He is currently living the life of an Internet-less person, which meant he had more things to be done at home now that not much can be done online. He had time to iron his clothes, read long books, and most importantly, study at a local college. Some days he'd just sit in an Indian restaurant and treat himself with some curry and fries, bread and beer. He was now more active than he usually was now that he was away from the computer screen more often (although sometimes he DID spend some time at the computer, it wasn't much, just a few stuff related to social media and text messages), going out more and getting more activities done.
Meanwhile, Sabu got into a bit of a jam in his life. The feds almost busted him for looking extremely similar to "someone they were looking for", who was right there in front of their faces. The cops examined him and said that he looked extremely alike to the suspect (in the photo, Monsegur DID look like the guy in the photo, with the same tattoos and a few other similar characteristics). Sabu, who looked almost exactly alike to the suspect, was about to be brought in to the police station. Fortunately for the hacker, right when the cops were about to get him in the car, their radio said that they found ANOTHER "boy" who matched the suspect's picture. With that, Sabu was off the hook.
After that close call, Sabu decided to take a look at the facts about Anonymous. In his investigation, he realized that most people thought of the Anons as criminals, heroes, or just hackers looking for thrills. Sabu wanted to help the Anons make a project so big, it would change the way the skeptic people think about them. For this assignment, he would need a team of elite hackers capable of taking the heat of the giant project, and he knew just where to find these.
He invited Topiary and Kayla into the field, telling them that their assignment was to hack the FBI. Both hackers were excited with the idea of the project, and jumped right in. Together the three elite hackers mucked up the passwords of the FBI's important members' passwords. They would hack into their accounts and start making up new passwords (which, thanks to some hacking securities, would take up quite some time to fix up) while leeching e-mails (tens of thousands of them) that would give them access to PayPal accounts of FBI users. This was the perfect crime, and soon they were about to go public.
So that's the end of chapter 16. What will happen next, I wonder? Will the Anons succeed in showing off their great crime? Or will they (almost) get busted... AGAIN? Well, that'll come in the next summary. Goodbye for now!
Sunday, April 13, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 15
Hello and welcome back everyone! Today I am going to continue the We Are Anonymous summaries. This time, some of our heroes (if that's the right word) have either been exposed by Jennifer Emick's anti-hacker group or bored of Anonymous's typical activities around the Internet. They have now formed their own tight-knit group of hackers who are "even more secret" than Anonymous. You know what? I should stop rambling on and just tell you the story. Here it is...
The story opens with Topiary being bored of the everyday activities in his hacking group, and decided tthat he wanted to move on to something more entertaining, something he REALLY lend a hand. Because of these reasons, he decided to take a small break from all the hacking activities in Anonymous and also from his computer, and decided to move house from his small home in a remote island and go to a place where hee could study at college and get a job.
However, Topiary wasn't the only one who planned to break away from Anonymous. He was accompanied by his close hacker friends (Sabu, Kayla and a few other hackers were also either bored/at risk of being discovered/already discovered/all of the above, causing them to break away from the Anons and join Topiary undercover) and together, they took refuge in Sabu's own server. It was one of the only safe places for such a tight group of hackers to operate, after all.
The server was as properly equipped for hacking as Batman is properly equipped for fighting crime. The server had its own IRC channel (to communicate with each other), acted as the hackers' own HQ, it had everything a lone group of hackers would require for their deeds of "justice". Heck, it even had their own place to post hacking operations (although not as refined as the Anons' "mission control", it still does the job for a group of isolated hackers). It was like Anonymous, only with less members.
Turns out being away from such a well-known group of hackers like Anonymous had its advantages. For one, The IRC operators couldn't turn you in to the feds. As a matter of fact, the Anons started to mistrust IRC operators for ratting out a few Anonymous members. All around the world, Anonymous was losing people. By June of 2011, at least 79 Anons from 8 countries were arrested under accusation of being connected with Anonymous.
Meanwhile, the small ex-Anonymous group was left untouched by the authorities. And to cover up his notoriety online, Topiary made up an "accidentally leaked" Internet log which discussed about his "recent arrest" in his house. This way, on the Web there'd be a big rumor that'd probably keep people off his track (at least for now) and he could continue his hacking activities. He plotted this with some fellow hackers who agreed to assist their troubled brother.
It seemed that Topiary and his friends made the right decision to stay in their small group. They heard that Anonymous hackers are no longer brave enough to sign into their IRC channels. An IRC operator ratted out the names of 653 nicknames that belonged to Anonymous, and you could already guess the mayhem this has caused. Ever since then, nobody was brave enough to operate IRC in Anonymous again.
So how long will Topiary & friends hold out? How long will it take for them to decide whether it's safe to return to their original home? Find out at the next chapter, some other day. Goodbye for now!
The story opens with Topiary being bored of the everyday activities in his hacking group, and decided tthat he wanted to move on to something more entertaining, something he REALLY lend a hand. Because of these reasons, he decided to take a small break from all the hacking activities in Anonymous and also from his computer, and decided to move house from his small home in a remote island and go to a place where hee could study at college and get a job.
However, Topiary wasn't the only one who planned to break away from Anonymous. He was accompanied by his close hacker friends (Sabu, Kayla and a few other hackers were also either bored/at risk of being discovered/already discovered/all of the above, causing them to break away from the Anons and join Topiary undercover) and together, they took refuge in Sabu's own server. It was one of the only safe places for such a tight group of hackers to operate, after all.
The server was as properly equipped for hacking as Batman is properly equipped for fighting crime. The server had its own IRC channel (to communicate with each other), acted as the hackers' own HQ, it had everything a lone group of hackers would require for their deeds of "justice". Heck, it even had their own place to post hacking operations (although not as refined as the Anons' "mission control", it still does the job for a group of isolated hackers). It was like Anonymous, only with less members.
Turns out being away from such a well-known group of hackers like Anonymous had its advantages. For one, The IRC operators couldn't turn you in to the feds. As a matter of fact, the Anons started to mistrust IRC operators for ratting out a few Anonymous members. All around the world, Anonymous was losing people. By June of 2011, at least 79 Anons from 8 countries were arrested under accusation of being connected with Anonymous.
Meanwhile, the small ex-Anonymous group was left untouched by the authorities. And to cover up his notoriety online, Topiary made up an "accidentally leaked" Internet log which discussed about his "recent arrest" in his house. This way, on the Web there'd be a big rumor that'd probably keep people off his track (at least for now) and he could continue his hacking activities. He plotted this with some fellow hackers who agreed to assist their troubled brother.
It seemed that Topiary and his friends made the right decision to stay in their small group. They heard that Anonymous hackers are no longer brave enough to sign into their IRC channels. An IRC operator ratted out the names of 653 nicknames that belonged to Anonymous, and you could already guess the mayhem this has caused. Ever since then, nobody was brave enough to operate IRC in Anonymous again.
So how long will Topiary & friends hold out? How long will it take for them to decide whether it's safe to return to their original home? Find out at the next chapter, some other day. Goodbye for now!
Thursday, April 10, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 14
Hey people, today I'm going to present to you another We Are Anonymous, and this time we're looking at a different point of view; this time we're peering from the eyes of Jennifer Emick, the Anon hater who has sworn to reveal their true identities and intentions. Without further ado, let's get this summary started already!
Emick first started her time online as a cyber-cop by arresting the users of LOIC (most people didn't really care about the fact that using LOIC could land them in the big house) and other illegal softwares related to hacking. With Emick's assistance, the government would later issue 40 search warrants in the United States, which was followed by the arrest of 16 suspects (yes, I realize that; so early in the chapter and Emick had already accomplished so much).
Then came the discovery of another hacker organization; a group named DigitalGangsters. They had hacked into the personal accounts of several famous celebrities and high-ranking officials of America (among those were Obama's official Twittter account). There was also another important event that happened as well; a hacker named YTCracker has decided to join forces with Emick to take down Anonymous, who, like Emick, also thought that the Anons were a despicable organization who were misunderstood as "heroes" by the public and were actually wolves in sheepskin.
However, the Anons were also aware about YTCracker's rivalry with them. Kayla, for instance, was determined to knock this opponent out of the competition by sending YTCracker insults about being hacked by a 16-year old girl (this actually happened back when Kayla was 16, but let's not get to that). However, this was not enough for the hacker to relent. While all the quarreling happened, Emick was still busy doing what she'd usually do on her computer, making more progress.
Emick was so absorbed in turning in the Anons that she hardly spent time outside her computer. She'd usually get her kids to make dinner for her while she gets more leads on the Anons. Everyone else was busy mingling around the house while she was in her office along with her files, notebooks, desk lamps, all the bells and whistles. She'd usually be seen tracking down IP addresses in hopes of locating an Anonymous member lurking in there.
Emick was close to tracking down Sabu, who was overconfident about his secrecy online. Without much trouble, she tracked down "Hector Xavier Monsegur" (which, if you remember, is Sabu's real name), as Sabu didn't take much effort into covering this name up, thinking that there were so many people with the name "Hector Monsegur" on the Internet. Needless to say, this was how Emick managed to leak Sabu's true identity to the public.
However, the Anons heard about Emick's treasure trove of info about the Anons' personal information that could destroy their online lives. They had to stop Emick from unleashing all this info to the public so they could stay incognito. But will the hackers succeed in doing so? And if so, how were they going to keep the cat in the bag? Anonymous was trying as hard as they could to cover up their identities. But will they live to hack another day? We'll find out later in the next chapter of We Are Anonymous, shall we?
Emick first started her time online as a cyber-cop by arresting the users of LOIC (most people didn't really care about the fact that using LOIC could land them in the big house) and other illegal softwares related to hacking. With Emick's assistance, the government would later issue 40 search warrants in the United States, which was followed by the arrest of 16 suspects (yes, I realize that; so early in the chapter and Emick had already accomplished so much).
Then came the discovery of another hacker organization; a group named DigitalGangsters. They had hacked into the personal accounts of several famous celebrities and high-ranking officials of America (among those were Obama's official Twittter account). There was also another important event that happened as well; a hacker named YTCracker has decided to join forces with Emick to take down Anonymous, who, like Emick, also thought that the Anons were a despicable organization who were misunderstood as "heroes" by the public and were actually wolves in sheepskin.
However, the Anons were also aware about YTCracker's rivalry with them. Kayla, for instance, was determined to knock this opponent out of the competition by sending YTCracker insults about being hacked by a 16-year old girl (this actually happened back when Kayla was 16, but let's not get to that). However, this was not enough for the hacker to relent. While all the quarreling happened, Emick was still busy doing what she'd usually do on her computer, making more progress.
Emick was so absorbed in turning in the Anons that she hardly spent time outside her computer. She'd usually get her kids to make dinner for her while she gets more leads on the Anons. Everyone else was busy mingling around the house while she was in her office along with her files, notebooks, desk lamps, all the bells and whistles. She'd usually be seen tracking down IP addresses in hopes of locating an Anonymous member lurking in there.
Emick was close to tracking down Sabu, who was overconfident about his secrecy online. Without much trouble, she tracked down "Hector Xavier Monsegur" (which, if you remember, is Sabu's real name), as Sabu didn't take much effort into covering this name up, thinking that there were so many people with the name "Hector Monsegur" on the Internet. Needless to say, this was how Emick managed to leak Sabu's true identity to the public.
However, the Anons heard about Emick's treasure trove of info about the Anons' personal information that could destroy their online lives. They had to stop Emick from unleashing all this info to the public so they could stay incognito. But will the hackers succeed in doing so? And if so, how were they going to keep the cat in the bag? Anonymous was trying as hard as they could to cover up their identities. But will they live to hack another day? We'll find out later in the next chapter of We Are Anonymous, shall we?
Monday, April 7, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 13
Hey guys, and we're back with more We Are Anonymous. This time, we're going to look more into the world of the almost-uncovered identity of Topiary. In this chapter, Topiary will try his best to cover his identity from the public, in fear of having his identity compromised and his hacking organization leaked. It won't be easy, though; He will be hounded by media moguls and eager reporters, but will he manage to send off these people in the other direction? Or will they instead manage to leak his identity to the world? Let's find out, shall we?
The chapter starts off with Topiary not exactly being in top condition after what happened to him earlier in the previous chapter (for those of you who didn't read chapter 12, Topiary went to an interview where he spoke to the interviewers via a kind of "speaker" that was used so the interviewers wouldn't see his face. However, he didn't alter his voice or change it in any way, which has been haunting him lately because of the fact that his voice may be discerned as Jake Davis, his alter ego), and the only way he could distract himself from the discomforting thoughts was by looking at Aaron Barr's e-mails although the other Anonymous members had moved onto something else.
It turned out that Topiary's sudden interest in Barr's e-mails was caused by a 29-year old freelance writer named Barrett Brown, who was interested in the business of exposing government corruption. As a matter of fact, Brown was also interested in Barr's corrupted e-mails, downloading a batch (23,000 e-mails) of the infected files from the Internet, eager to investigate a wider case of corruption, if any. Topiary was also interested in the infected e-mails as well, causing him to form quite a close relationship to Brown, joining the reporter on Skype chats about how the investigation on the e-mails were going so far. Topiary was so obsessed in the chats that he'd keep it on for a few days straight.
Brown was also interested in the Anons' new method in hacking (encouraged by Topiary's own hacking techniques that had made him so popular in the last few chapters); Anonymous didn't want hacking to just be a typical raid any longer; they also want the assault on the website to be fun and exciting, which was what caught Brown's attention in the hacking group. The reporter wanted to get Anonymous involved in the long-term research of the organization. Even worse, Brown even tried to get the members of Anonymous ON THE EVENING NEWS, which made things a lot harder.
In no time, the name "Barrett Brown" was passed around the journalists who covered Anonymous as their research subjects (or maybe, being the reporters they are, article subjects) for his daring feats on the organization. And about Brown's request for the Anons to appear on the evening news? Amazingly, the Anons approved of their appearances on the news (although they didn't appear IN PERSON and not EVERY member of the Anons joined, at least they appeared on camera (no faces shown, of course) with a few representatives speaking for their bigger group).
You may be wondering what was the reason for Anonymous's relent to the media. According to Topiary, Brown "deserved a chance" and "isn't so bad and might be worth it in the end". Although not much is told about Anonymous's appearance on the evening news, we DO know that afterwards, Topiary and his Anon friends were given acces to more of Brown's (and HIS friends') leads on Barr's corrupted e-mails. With these e-mails, Anonymous just joined the many sides that were investigating on Aaron Barr's corrupted mail. Little did Anonymous know, the authorities just used the interview with Anonymous on the evening news to get more leads on the hackers.
As of late, Topiary has been in conflict with both sides of the law. On one hand, he was eager to divulge his inner feelings about his hacking life to the media. On the other hand, he also has a sense of secrecy for the organization he hacked for. At this time, he wasn't really sure which side to choose. What will happen in the next chapter, I wonder?
The chapter starts off with Topiary not exactly being in top condition after what happened to him earlier in the previous chapter (for those of you who didn't read chapter 12, Topiary went to an interview where he spoke to the interviewers via a kind of "speaker" that was used so the interviewers wouldn't see his face. However, he didn't alter his voice or change it in any way, which has been haunting him lately because of the fact that his voice may be discerned as Jake Davis, his alter ego), and the only way he could distract himself from the discomforting thoughts was by looking at Aaron Barr's e-mails although the other Anonymous members had moved onto something else.
It turned out that Topiary's sudden interest in Barr's e-mails was caused by a 29-year old freelance writer named Barrett Brown, who was interested in the business of exposing government corruption. As a matter of fact, Brown was also interested in Barr's corrupted e-mails, downloading a batch (23,000 e-mails) of the infected files from the Internet, eager to investigate a wider case of corruption, if any. Topiary was also interested in the infected e-mails as well, causing him to form quite a close relationship to Brown, joining the reporter on Skype chats about how the investigation on the e-mails were going so far. Topiary was so obsessed in the chats that he'd keep it on for a few days straight.
Brown was also interested in the Anons' new method in hacking (encouraged by Topiary's own hacking techniques that had made him so popular in the last few chapters); Anonymous didn't want hacking to just be a typical raid any longer; they also want the assault on the website to be fun and exciting, which was what caught Brown's attention in the hacking group. The reporter wanted to get Anonymous involved in the long-term research of the organization. Even worse, Brown even tried to get the members of Anonymous ON THE EVENING NEWS, which made things a lot harder.
In no time, the name "Barrett Brown" was passed around the journalists who covered Anonymous as their research subjects (or maybe, being the reporters they are, article subjects) for his daring feats on the organization. And about Brown's request for the Anons to appear on the evening news? Amazingly, the Anons approved of their appearances on the news (although they didn't appear IN PERSON and not EVERY member of the Anons joined, at least they appeared on camera (no faces shown, of course) with a few representatives speaking for their bigger group).
You may be wondering what was the reason for Anonymous's relent to the media. According to Topiary, Brown "deserved a chance" and "isn't so bad and might be worth it in the end". Although not much is told about Anonymous's appearance on the evening news, we DO know that afterwards, Topiary and his Anon friends were given acces to more of Brown's (and HIS friends') leads on Barr's corrupted e-mails. With these e-mails, Anonymous just joined the many sides that were investigating on Aaron Barr's corrupted mail. Little did Anonymous know, the authorities just used the interview with Anonymous on the evening news to get more leads on the hackers.
As of late, Topiary has been in conflict with both sides of the law. On one hand, he was eager to divulge his inner feelings about his hacking life to the media. On the other hand, he also has a sense of secrecy for the organization he hacked for. At this time, he wasn't really sure which side to choose. What will happen in the next chapter, I wonder?
Saturday, April 5, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 12
Heelo and welcome back guys! If you saw my last post, we are done with the first part of We Are Anonymous and are moving on to part two (and therefore, chapter 12) of the book. In this chapter, The Anons will encounter have a bit of a rough conversation with the media about their well-known deeds on the internet and basically, try to keep the fire under control. This is a rough summary of what happened during the media's attack on the hackers...
The story opens with Topiary's newly found fame on the Internet (actually, he was already originally famous, but he became EVEN MORE famous. Can you imagine that?). His reason for fame was because of his hacking technique; due to his cheerful and mischievous nature, he was loved by many Anonymous fans, who loved of his hacking (accompanied by his fun way of doing the hacking) ways. Every time Jake Davis logged on to Anonymous as "Topiary", he would get at least half a dozen e-mails by Topiary lovers filled with requests of the target Topiary should strike next.
Other than Topiary's newly found fame, the Anon fans also requested Anonymous to strike at Westboro Baptist Church (that's the second church already. What's wrong with some people?), which was known for flooding soldiers' funerals with giant signs saying "GOD HATES FAGS" (literally written in Caps Lock on the signs). Apparently this made the people mad, requesting Anonymous to dispatch of this "religious" church. Anonymous agreed to assault Westboro.
Soon the bell was rang. Some random guy posted a public e-mail on Anonymous's website. The e-mail said that Westboro will pay for being "graceless sociopaths" and "maniacal chauvinists". Soon Westboro sent back an e-mail to Anonymous saying "Bring it on!" and that Anonymous was a team of "pimple-faced nerds". Before long, the "assault" was turning into more of a cyberbully attack than an assault. Regardless of the never-ending insults, Anonymous managed to take down Westboro's key website, GodHatesFags.com, as well as other websites related to Westboro.
The David Pakman Show was a current affairs show that discussed mostly about what was going on in Westboro lately. Seeing Anonymous as an opportunity to discuss about Westboro's affairs with the hackers, Pakman (the owner of the show) decided to make an interview with the Anons' business with Westboro. Pakman interviewed Topiary (who they used as a representative for Anonymous) about Anonymous's business with Westboro. Topiary said to Pakman that they just took down two websites by Westboro so far; "YourPastorIsAWhore.com" and "GodHatesFags.com".
As for Topiary's response to the "crybaby hackers" letters from Westboro, Topiary said that Anonymous's response to the letter was mature (which Pakman's assistant responded to sarcastically for quite a along time) and that they only wanted to speak for the people and try their best not to go to war with Westboro. However, Pakman's assistant kept on insulting Anonymous throughout the interview with sarcastic comments and remarks that Anonymous will still stay a band of criminals no matter what deeds they did to the people. The assistant said that as long as the Anons griefed online websites, they would stay be online criminals and not forces of good.
The interview of Anonymous and Pakman (and his assistant) was posted on YouTube, with millions of views. Topiary's greatest fear was that his identity would be compromised during the interview. Since it was such a big event, he didn't use any voice-altering device for the interview or anything that would make his voice different or anything. Topiary made a mental note that Pakman's assistant should be targeted for griefing. It was time for Anonymous to shine.
Next time on We Are Anonymous, Topiary will be going through some coflicts witth his identity. The authorities, the cops, everyone would be chasing after him now. Will he live to hack another day or will this be the end of Jake Davis? We'll find out later in chapter 13 of We Are Anonymous. Until then, I'll be seeing you by (at least) tomorrow. Peace out!
The story opens with Topiary's newly found fame on the Internet (actually, he was already originally famous, but he became EVEN MORE famous. Can you imagine that?). His reason for fame was because of his hacking technique; due to his cheerful and mischievous nature, he was loved by many Anonymous fans, who loved of his hacking (accompanied by his fun way of doing the hacking) ways. Every time Jake Davis logged on to Anonymous as "Topiary", he would get at least half a dozen e-mails by Topiary lovers filled with requests of the target Topiary should strike next.
Other than Topiary's newly found fame, the Anon fans also requested Anonymous to strike at Westboro Baptist Church (that's the second church already. What's wrong with some people?), which was known for flooding soldiers' funerals with giant signs saying "GOD HATES FAGS" (literally written in Caps Lock on the signs). Apparently this made the people mad, requesting Anonymous to dispatch of this "religious" church. Anonymous agreed to assault Westboro.
Soon the bell was rang. Some random guy posted a public e-mail on Anonymous's website. The e-mail said that Westboro will pay for being "graceless sociopaths" and "maniacal chauvinists". Soon Westboro sent back an e-mail to Anonymous saying "Bring it on!" and that Anonymous was a team of "pimple-faced nerds". Before long, the "assault" was turning into more of a cyberbully attack than an assault. Regardless of the never-ending insults, Anonymous managed to take down Westboro's key website, GodHatesFags.com, as well as other websites related to Westboro.
The David Pakman Show was a current affairs show that discussed mostly about what was going on in Westboro lately. Seeing Anonymous as an opportunity to discuss about Westboro's affairs with the hackers, Pakman (the owner of the show) decided to make an interview with the Anons' business with Westboro. Pakman interviewed Topiary (who they used as a representative for Anonymous) about Anonymous's business with Westboro. Topiary said to Pakman that they just took down two websites by Westboro so far; "YourPastorIsAWhore.com" and "GodHatesFags.com".
As for Topiary's response to the "crybaby hackers" letters from Westboro, Topiary said that Anonymous's response to the letter was mature (which Pakman's assistant responded to sarcastically for quite a along time) and that they only wanted to speak for the people and try their best not to go to war with Westboro. However, Pakman's assistant kept on insulting Anonymous throughout the interview with sarcastic comments and remarks that Anonymous will still stay a band of criminals no matter what deeds they did to the people. The assistant said that as long as the Anons griefed online websites, they would stay be online criminals and not forces of good.
The interview of Anonymous and Pakman (and his assistant) was posted on YouTube, with millions of views. Topiary's greatest fear was that his identity would be compromised during the interview. Since it was such a big event, he didn't use any voice-altering device for the interview or anything that would make his voice different or anything. Topiary made a mental note that Pakman's assistant should be targeted for griefing. It was time for Anonymous to shine.
Next time on We Are Anonymous, Topiary will be going through some coflicts witth his identity. The authorities, the cops, everyone would be chasing after him now. Will he live to hack another day or will this be the end of Jake Davis? We'll find out later in chapter 13 of We Are Anonymous. Until then, I'll be seeing you by (at least) tomorrow. Peace out!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
We Are Anonymous Overall Summary Part 1
Dear readers, it brings me sorrow (just a bit, to be honest) to tell you that chapters 1-11 in We Are Anonymous has come to an end, and with it, part 1 out of 3 of the book. In times like this, the time isn't really right to instantly skip to the next part of the book without realizing what Anonymous has done over the past 11 chapters. So before we move on to the next part of the book, let's take a bit of time to reflect on what the Anons have done in the recent years.
First, we learnt about the first known Anonymous attack in history; the assault on Aaron Barr's Web account and the humiliation he got from other people on the Net afterwards. His private e-mails appearing on the Web as torrents, his poor mug being used in various "memes" and comics on the Internet (I don't know if you remember, but his face did appear on a James Bond movie poster to insult his "security skills" and on a popular comic on the Internet called "Forever Alone").
Then we also learned about 4chan, the popular Anonymous hangout site on the Net, and how 4chan came to be the life essence of William (remember him?), a young Anon who was immune to the adult world at such a young age and was the start of many advancements in the world of Anonymous. This guy was a very important member of the Anons, founding so many different things for the Anons to make their life in hacking a lot easier. We also learned about William's acts of vigilantism, which he lashed out on pedophiles, other hackers and other online criminals.
Then we learned about Topiary's (Jake Davis) mischievous personality and his significant sense of humor over the other Anons, prank calling restaurants and hacking into an online game named Habbo (come to think of it, hacking into an online game wasn't really related to Topiary's sense of humor, but it WAS still mischievous, so I guess that's still worth a mention). He also helped Anonymous a bit by improving their comms system like William did, only just a bit less.
Afterwards we learned about the underdog girl hacker, Kayla and her life as an underestimated girl who was harassed on the Web for her gender. We also learn about Wesley Bailey, the ex-man (now woman due to some gender-changing pills) who was interested in the Anonymous business and became a member of the organization. He was also known for being a turncoat in the sake for her Anonymous "hater" friend, Jennifer Emick (I'll explain more about her later).
Then we discovered (actually, the Anons discovered it) about WikiLeaks' accidental leak of EXTREMELY RESTRICTED information from the American authorities (and by EXTREMELY RESTRICTED I mean the kind of info that could get you in jail for life or something like that), which led to a chain reaction of events that ended up in Anonymous saving WikiLeaks' butt from extermination from the Web by eliminating any WikiLeaks-opposing website that poses (or at least, will potentially pose) as a threat to WikiLeaks grave condition.
Soon afterwards we found out about Sabu (Hector Monsegur), the poor kid whose family was in a critical condition. We saw his struggle to help his family, his lust to seek justice, and the awesome stunt he pulled off against the Tunisian government. We then learned about the Anonymous to-be member turned hater, Jennifer Emick and her rebellion against the hackers and her heinous (if "heinous" is the right word for a person dedicated to compromise the identity of the leaders of a hacker organization) plot to uncover the alter egos of the Anonymous leaders. Little did they know, she was working with the now female Wesley Bailey (named "Laurelai") who leaked the identities of the Anons because of Laurelai's sympathy for Emick.
That's what happened during Part One of the book (at least everything important). Tomorrow we shall proceed with We Are Anonymous. I wonder, what shall happen next? Will there be other websites that need saving? Will there be another threat to the Anons that will leak their identities? Well, we'll find out next time. As for now, it's time to say farewell to part 1. See you next time!
First, we learnt about the first known Anonymous attack in history; the assault on Aaron Barr's Web account and the humiliation he got from other people on the Net afterwards. His private e-mails appearing on the Web as torrents, his poor mug being used in various "memes" and comics on the Internet (I don't know if you remember, but his face did appear on a James Bond movie poster to insult his "security skills" and on a popular comic on the Internet called "Forever Alone").
Then we also learned about 4chan, the popular Anonymous hangout site on the Net, and how 4chan came to be the life essence of William (remember him?), a young Anon who was immune to the adult world at such a young age and was the start of many advancements in the world of Anonymous. This guy was a very important member of the Anons, founding so many different things for the Anons to make their life in hacking a lot easier. We also learned about William's acts of vigilantism, which he lashed out on pedophiles, other hackers and other online criminals.
Then we learned about Topiary's (Jake Davis) mischievous personality and his significant sense of humor over the other Anons, prank calling restaurants and hacking into an online game named Habbo (come to think of it, hacking into an online game wasn't really related to Topiary's sense of humor, but it WAS still mischievous, so I guess that's still worth a mention). He also helped Anonymous a bit by improving their comms system like William did, only just a bit less.
Afterwards we learned about the underdog girl hacker, Kayla and her life as an underestimated girl who was harassed on the Web for her gender. We also learn about Wesley Bailey, the ex-man (now woman due to some gender-changing pills) who was interested in the Anonymous business and became a member of the organization. He was also known for being a turncoat in the sake for her Anonymous "hater" friend, Jennifer Emick (I'll explain more about her later).
Then we discovered (actually, the Anons discovered it) about WikiLeaks' accidental leak of EXTREMELY RESTRICTED information from the American authorities (and by EXTREMELY RESTRICTED I mean the kind of info that could get you in jail for life or something like that), which led to a chain reaction of events that ended up in Anonymous saving WikiLeaks' butt from extermination from the Web by eliminating any WikiLeaks-opposing website that poses (or at least, will potentially pose) as a threat to WikiLeaks grave condition.
Soon afterwards we found out about Sabu (Hector Monsegur), the poor kid whose family was in a critical condition. We saw his struggle to help his family, his lust to seek justice, and the awesome stunt he pulled off against the Tunisian government. We then learned about the Anonymous to-be member turned hater, Jennifer Emick and her rebellion against the hackers and her heinous (if "heinous" is the right word for a person dedicated to compromise the identity of the leaders of a hacker organization) plot to uncover the alter egos of the Anonymous leaders. Little did they know, she was working with the now female Wesley Bailey (named "Laurelai") who leaked the identities of the Anons because of Laurelai's sympathy for Emick.
That's what happened during Part One of the book (at least everything important). Tomorrow we shall proceed with We Are Anonymous. I wonder, what shall happen next? Will there be other websites that need saving? Will there be another threat to the Anons that will leak their identities? Well, we'll find out next time. As for now, it's time to say farewell to part 1. See you next time!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 11
Hey people, we have returned with more We Are Anonymous summaries. In this chapter, we are going to investigate about what happened after all the things that happened; all the hacks, all the offenses to the authorities, everything Anonymous had done ends with this chapter. So, what will happen next? Well, don't let me stop you; This is what happened...
Still remember that guy Aaron Barr from chapter 1? (if you read my summary about it) You, know, the guy who became the first Anonymous victim? (supposedly) Anyway, in this chapter, he decided to pack up, move house (and probably move country, after all he's been through), away from all the offenses from the people around him. So with his family, the Barrs boarded a plane to Sacramento. The media, the Web, almost everyone seemed to want to get a chance to insult Barr. Apparently it was all just too much for the poor guy.
Back to Anonymous. Laurelai (that's the present name for the now female "Bailey" transgender dude a few chapters ago, if you remember Bailey) was seeing what was going on in the Anon world. She found out about Operation Payback. However, she was uninterested with the operation, because Laurelai wasn't really interested in the DDoS business. But what she WAS interested in was a confidential file by the government, which contained information about the authorities' intention to destroy WikiLeaks.
The planned destruction of WikiLeaks wasn't just because of their recent antics about leaking the American leaders' intentions to the world; (before the "attack" on the Bank, the authorities weren't THAT close yet to swearing to annihilate WikiLeaks, they just needed a bit of motivation) it seems like WikiLeaks just spilled the beans about a whole trove of confidential info about the Bank of America's dirty secrets (it was just a rumor, but WikiLeaks' tendency to blab about secret important stuff might have made America assume that it was going to be a real deed). This just got the Bank on their trail, along with a lot of other outraged authorities that WikiLeaks just ticked off.
Something else that Anonymous came to realize was about one suspicious Anonymous "hater", who was constantly (endlessly, more like) bombarding the Anons with criticism. This hater's username was #FakeGreggHoush. As it turned out, this person was Jennifer Emick (remember that woman that thought Anonymous was a pack of no-good bullies that liked to pick on people on the Internet), apparently back for revenge on the Anons. Emick's strategy to eradicate Anonymous was by showing the world that Anonymous wasn't really anonymous by leaking their leaders' identities. And by some freaky coincidence, these people were Sabu, Kayla and Topiary.
The Anons' security was now in the threat of being exposed by Emick, starting with Topiary (who Emick and a few other "Anon haters" threatened to take pictures of outside Topiary's flat). The Anon, unshaken (and probably unconvinced) of the threats, mocked the offendors instead of being afraid of them. However, Sabu was worried about HIS notoriety on thee Web; at the time, if you searched "Hector Monsegur" on the Net, there'd actually be HIS identity, HIS person on the Web.
As it turns out, Laurelai was the person partly responsible for the identity leaks of the Anons. When the two parted ways, they still kept in touch, one person as an Anon and one as a hater. Laurelai, out of empathy for Emick, decided to go "friend over organization" and leaked a massive log of a chatting to Emick, allowing Laurelai to leak quite a lot of identities over to the haters, giving them an advantage.
After all the haters have been doing to the Anons, this will net the haters a few points over the hackers. What will happen next, I wonder? Will the vigilantes somehow find a way to eradicate the information about them and triumph over the public once again? Or will they finally get cornered and break up? Let's find out at the next chapter...
Still remember that guy Aaron Barr from chapter 1? (if you read my summary about it) You, know, the guy who became the first Anonymous victim? (supposedly) Anyway, in this chapter, he decided to pack up, move house (and probably move country, after all he's been through), away from all the offenses from the people around him. So with his family, the Barrs boarded a plane to Sacramento. The media, the Web, almost everyone seemed to want to get a chance to insult Barr. Apparently it was all just too much for the poor guy.
Back to Anonymous. Laurelai (that's the present name for the now female "Bailey" transgender dude a few chapters ago, if you remember Bailey) was seeing what was going on in the Anon world. She found out about Operation Payback. However, she was uninterested with the operation, because Laurelai wasn't really interested in the DDoS business. But what she WAS interested in was a confidential file by the government, which contained information about the authorities' intention to destroy WikiLeaks.
The planned destruction of WikiLeaks wasn't just because of their recent antics about leaking the American leaders' intentions to the world; (before the "attack" on the Bank, the authorities weren't THAT close yet to swearing to annihilate WikiLeaks, they just needed a bit of motivation) it seems like WikiLeaks just spilled the beans about a whole trove of confidential info about the Bank of America's dirty secrets (it was just a rumor, but WikiLeaks' tendency to blab about secret important stuff might have made America assume that it was going to be a real deed). This just got the Bank on their trail, along with a lot of other outraged authorities that WikiLeaks just ticked off.
Something else that Anonymous came to realize was about one suspicious Anonymous "hater", who was constantly (endlessly, more like) bombarding the Anons with criticism. This hater's username was #FakeGreggHoush. As it turned out, this person was Jennifer Emick (remember that woman that thought Anonymous was a pack of no-good bullies that liked to pick on people on the Internet), apparently back for revenge on the Anons. Emick's strategy to eradicate Anonymous was by showing the world that Anonymous wasn't really anonymous by leaking their leaders' identities. And by some freaky coincidence, these people were Sabu, Kayla and Topiary.
The Anons' security was now in the threat of being exposed by Emick, starting with Topiary (who Emick and a few other "Anon haters" threatened to take pictures of outside Topiary's flat). The Anon, unshaken (and probably unconvinced) of the threats, mocked the offendors instead of being afraid of them. However, Sabu was worried about HIS notoriety on thee Web; at the time, if you searched "Hector Monsegur" on the Net, there'd actually be HIS identity, HIS person on the Web.
As it turns out, Laurelai was the person partly responsible for the identity leaks of the Anons. When the two parted ways, they still kept in touch, one person as an Anon and one as a hater. Laurelai, out of empathy for Emick, decided to go "friend over organization" and leaked a massive log of a chatting to Emick, allowing Laurelai to leak quite a lot of identities over to the haters, giving them an advantage.
After all the haters have been doing to the Anons, this will net the haters a few points over the hackers. What will happen next, I wonder? Will the vigilantes somehow find a way to eradicate the information about them and triumph over the public once again? Or will they finally get cornered and break up? Let's find out at the next chapter...
Monday, March 31, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 10
I am BACK, people! and with me, I have brought a summary of a new chapter of We Are Anonymous. In this chapter, we are going to learn about a "ninja" hacker in Anonymous and how they operate ("Phew!", I hear you say. "Not another boring biography of another hacker, we've already had enough of that!"). So enough chitchat, I'll just tell you about the story already.
The chapter takes place after Sabu's assault on the Tunisian government. This had a great impact on Anonymous, as it gave the people a view of Anonymous as an amazingly skilled bunch of skilled hacktivists (despite Sabu being the one who did all the hacking in the first place, the credit was taken by all of the Anons anyway). A few Anons such as Topiary first met Sabu when the latter accidentally got kicked out of the Anonymous chat room by Topiary (who was forgiven by Sabu, fortunately).
In this chapter, more about Kayla's secretive personality is mentioned. It turns out that it was done in the sake of keeping her identity secret just in case someone wanted to call the feds on her. When she was still a young hacker (and a skilled one as well, regarding her age), she picked the wrong guy to hack. This guy easily tracked down Kayla through her MSN account and hacker profiles. Through these personal accounts, he managed to uncover her email address, phone number, enough information required to call the cops on her (which he threatened to do). After a lifetime of pleading, the victim and the hacker (or at least the victim) calmed down and decided to meet each other.
At their meeting, the man was interested with Kayla's obsession with hacking and apologized for his rudeness, unaware of Kayla's ripe age (well, as for the age, the guy DID see it on one of Kayla's profiles, but couldn't believe that such a young girl was capable of wreaking such havoc, thinking that her age was much older for such a pro hacker). He then told Kayla that he managed to discover her personal info from her accounts online. After the meeting, Kayla erased every single piece of evidence of her and her family and researching on the Internet in an attempt to stay completely invisible online; untracable. Needless to say, she succeeded.
She was quite a resourceful hacker since then (after her successful attempt to erase her personal information from the Web, it seems). She became some kind of teacher for hackers, being the mentor of some Anonymous hackers, who she used for her and/Anonymous's hacking jobs. She was known for her and her hacking team's assault on several servers and websites opposing and abusing the people on the web, such as her attack on one website named "Gawker.com" (which was a massive success; they managed to get access to many email addresses, encrypted passwords, usernames, the lot. They even managed to gain access to the server owner's private account, which made the hackers develop the idea of griefing it a bit). However, she was also hoodwinked once.
She joined forces with a WikiLeaks administrator "q", who offered her help with WikiLeaks issues. He seemed like a good man, until he turned on WikiLeaks and the hackers, snatching $60.000 from WikiLeaks (God knows how). He then somehow disappeared.with no trace.
However, this wasn't all that q did. He also secretly leaked Kayla's personal details, her greatest fear. What will happen next? Will Kayla get busted? Arrested? Well, we'll find out next time! Bye for now!
The chapter takes place after Sabu's assault on the Tunisian government. This had a great impact on Anonymous, as it gave the people a view of Anonymous as an amazingly skilled bunch of skilled hacktivists (despite Sabu being the one who did all the hacking in the first place, the credit was taken by all of the Anons anyway). A few Anons such as Topiary first met Sabu when the latter accidentally got kicked out of the Anonymous chat room by Topiary (who was forgiven by Sabu, fortunately).
In this chapter, more about Kayla's secretive personality is mentioned. It turns out that it was done in the sake of keeping her identity secret just in case someone wanted to call the feds on her. When she was still a young hacker (and a skilled one as well, regarding her age), she picked the wrong guy to hack. This guy easily tracked down Kayla through her MSN account and hacker profiles. Through these personal accounts, he managed to uncover her email address, phone number, enough information required to call the cops on her (which he threatened to do). After a lifetime of pleading, the victim and the hacker (or at least the victim) calmed down and decided to meet each other.
At their meeting, the man was interested with Kayla's obsession with hacking and apologized for his rudeness, unaware of Kayla's ripe age (well, as for the age, the guy DID see it on one of Kayla's profiles, but couldn't believe that such a young girl was capable of wreaking such havoc, thinking that her age was much older for such a pro hacker). He then told Kayla that he managed to discover her personal info from her accounts online. After the meeting, Kayla erased every single piece of evidence of her and her family and researching on the Internet in an attempt to stay completely invisible online; untracable. Needless to say, she succeeded.
She was quite a resourceful hacker since then (after her successful attempt to erase her personal information from the Web, it seems). She became some kind of teacher for hackers, being the mentor of some Anonymous hackers, who she used for her and/Anonymous's hacking jobs. She was known for her and her hacking team's assault on several servers and websites opposing and abusing the people on the web, such as her attack on one website named "Gawker.com" (which was a massive success; they managed to get access to many email addresses, encrypted passwords, usernames, the lot. They even managed to gain access to the server owner's private account, which made the hackers develop the idea of griefing it a bit). However, she was also hoodwinked once.
She joined forces with a WikiLeaks administrator "q", who offered her help with WikiLeaks issues. He seemed like a good man, until he turned on WikiLeaks and the hackers, snatching $60.000 from WikiLeaks (God knows how). He then somehow disappeared.with no trace.
However, this wasn't all that q did. He also secretly leaked Kayla's personal details, her greatest fear. What will happen next? Will Kayla get busted? Arrested? Well, we'll find out next time! Bye for now!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 9
Hello and good news everyone! Today I've still got a little bit of time to spare for another summary for today. That's the good news, mnd. The BAD news is that this chapter focuses on the bio of yet ANOTHER hacker in Anonymous ("groan... this is the third time he's done this...", I can hear you say). Don't panic or worry, however. This is the story of a new hacker whose backstory wasn't as bright as his fellow griefers. So hold on tight, this story will be a gripping one...
"Sabu" was an Anon that wasn't exactly the latest game in the computer store. He wasn't interested in petty cyber-crimes other hackers did (harass hackers, picked on pedophiles, basically online troublemakers). He was an old-school dude whose true interest was being an online "hero" by opposing authorities and screwing up the rules of the Web. In fact, one of his favorite activities on the Internet was invading Internet service providers (ISPs for short) and taking bigwigs on the internet head on.
Sabu's real name was Hector Xavier Monsegur, and he was raised in a poor family with a very unstable condition to be stuck in. His family was forced to sell drugs for cash (or at least his father and aunt did) and couldn't get good internet connection for their poor Monsegur, who was yearning for the chance to be a hacker. His obsession with hacking has made Monsegur what he is today; one of the best workers in what coud be presumed as the best and most well-known organizations in the world.
However, his obsession of hacking had occasionally got him in trouble. For instance, in his school he once brought a screwdriver to the place. The metal detector at the entrance of the building easily discovered the item, forcing the security guard enforcing the entrance to confiscate the screwdriver, which eventually led to a chain reaction of events (involving Monsegur's lies that the screwdriver was to fix a computer) that ended up in Monsegur's temporary "expulsion" from the school. He was then dubbed "mental" and was advised to visit a psychologist (coincidentally, as if in response to these acts, Monsegur dropped out of high school by 9th grade for unknown reasons).
After discovering hactivism, Monsegur, after all he had seen in his life (drug dealing, his family living in desperation, stuff like that), decided to use hacking for good. He formed his own tight-kight hacking group named "Hackweiser", and together they'd help other people with their credit ratings, fix their internet connections, the like.
Soon, Monsegur's grandmother died. His grandmother, who had stayed with him since he was 14, who cared for and raised him. After getting a bit pent up with rage, he decided to avenge his granny by joining Anonymous as Sabu (and this was the same time that Anonymous assaulted PayPal for not supporting WikiLeaks). Along with his alliance with Anonymous, he decided to compensate the damage he'd done on his little "rage tour" during his grandmother's mourning.
Sabu's country, Puerto Rico, was used as a "rage absorber" for Sabu's rage, was pretty hurt by Sabu's anger during his granny's mourning and Sabu decided to make it up to them by dispatching Tunisia's servers (the two countries were at war back then) with his hacking capabilities. Amazingly, Sabu managed to single-handedly take down the servers, and was even capable of defacing the website of Tunisia's prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi. The outcome of the attack was astounding: Tunisia's prime minister resigned and its president Ben Ali stepped down.
With such skill and potential, Sabu then proceeded to dispatch Nigerian sites, hack into Zimbabwean mail for evidence of corruption, things like that. At this rate, he was insulting the Middle East at light speed. But will his skills match the ninja at the next chapter? Until next time,people!
"Sabu" was an Anon that wasn't exactly the latest game in the computer store. He wasn't interested in petty cyber-crimes other hackers did (harass hackers, picked on pedophiles, basically online troublemakers). He was an old-school dude whose true interest was being an online "hero" by opposing authorities and screwing up the rules of the Web. In fact, one of his favorite activities on the Internet was invading Internet service providers (ISPs for short) and taking bigwigs on the internet head on.
Sabu's real name was Hector Xavier Monsegur, and he was raised in a poor family with a very unstable condition to be stuck in. His family was forced to sell drugs for cash (or at least his father and aunt did) and couldn't get good internet connection for their poor Monsegur, who was yearning for the chance to be a hacker. His obsession with hacking has made Monsegur what he is today; one of the best workers in what coud be presumed as the best and most well-known organizations in the world.
However, his obsession of hacking had occasionally got him in trouble. For instance, in his school he once brought a screwdriver to the place. The metal detector at the entrance of the building easily discovered the item, forcing the security guard enforcing the entrance to confiscate the screwdriver, which eventually led to a chain reaction of events (involving Monsegur's lies that the screwdriver was to fix a computer) that ended up in Monsegur's temporary "expulsion" from the school. He was then dubbed "mental" and was advised to visit a psychologist (coincidentally, as if in response to these acts, Monsegur dropped out of high school by 9th grade for unknown reasons).
After discovering hactivism, Monsegur, after all he had seen in his life (drug dealing, his family living in desperation, stuff like that), decided to use hacking for good. He formed his own tight-kight hacking group named "Hackweiser", and together they'd help other people with their credit ratings, fix their internet connections, the like.
Soon, Monsegur's grandmother died. His grandmother, who had stayed with him since he was 14, who cared for and raised him. After getting a bit pent up with rage, he decided to avenge his granny by joining Anonymous as Sabu (and this was the same time that Anonymous assaulted PayPal for not supporting WikiLeaks). Along with his alliance with Anonymous, he decided to compensate the damage he'd done on his little "rage tour" during his grandmother's mourning.
Sabu's country, Puerto Rico, was used as a "rage absorber" for Sabu's rage, was pretty hurt by Sabu's anger during his granny's mourning and Sabu decided to make it up to them by dispatching Tunisia's servers (the two countries were at war back then) with his hacking capabilities. Amazingly, Sabu managed to single-handedly take down the servers, and was even capable of defacing the website of Tunisia's prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi. The outcome of the attack was astounding: Tunisia's prime minister resigned and its president Ben Ali stepped down.
With such skill and potential, Sabu then proceeded to dispatch Nigerian sites, hack into Zimbabwean mail for evidence of corruption, things like that. At this rate, he was insulting the Middle East at light speed. But will his skills match the ninja at the next chapter? Until next time,people!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 8
Hey people and I have returned! And you know what that means; More stories about probably one of the most brilliant hacker organizations in the world. This time the chapter is about weapons that were used by the hackers in a vain attempt to attack some bigwig authority but backfired and caused havoc among the roots of the vigilantes. So without further ado, I should just start the story already (ahem). Dear readers, this is the story about weapons that Anonymous invented and backfired.
You may have thought that the weapons that backfired were new, experimental weapons that have never been used by Anonymous. After all, those are the types of weapons that go wrong the easiest. But NO, instead the government managed to turn perfectly normal hacker weapons into gadgets that could be utilized by the authorities for their own ends. Take LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon), for example, which were used by the hackers for flooding their target websites in the same conscience as a DDoS attack: Flood the server with a massive amount of requests, causing denial of service.
However, the LOIC also had a critical downside when it came to its users' safety. It could be easily filtered in order for any law enforcers to discover its IP address and with it (the IP address, that is), they could uncover who the hackers were by examining the users of the hackers' IP address at the time of the crime, leading the cops straight to the hackers' doors.
Due to its safety reasons and very high risk of being busted by the feds, some hackers DID need some clarification if LOIC can still be used as a safe hacking weapon. They chatted to each other on the web if they were going to get busted for using LOIC (which someone replied by saying that you could easily get the cops off your track by calmly saying that your computer was infected with spyware), if you could evade it by playing dumb (some people said that you could pretend that you didn't know it was a virus and don't have the slightest idea how it got onto your computer in the first place), which, judging from the hackers' strict knowledge of LOIC, probably wasn't such a good idea.
Obviously, Anonymous needed some other device to replace LOIC. Something that could fire junk (useless files) at websites faster, more powerful and far-reaching. They succeeded, still using the name of LOIC. However, this was a new and improved one LOIC, despite the same name. However, in a short period of time, someone leaked the news to the FBI, who used their own hacking team to shut down the program. Not only that, but PayPal also sent info to the FBI about almost all the attackers of PayPal, creating a LONG hit list for the FBI on Anonymous's members.
However, Anonymous wasn't giving in to arrest THAT easily. There were still many hackers out there still inciting rebellion against the authorities. For example, a few Anonymous members managed to pull off a raid on Sarah Palin's official website. This wasn't the same group that assaulted PayPal and the online payment companies; these were different. Another operation called "OverLoad" became known for hitting EVERY SINGLE ".gov" and ".edu" site they could (and trust me, these hackers know a LOT of sites that end in those words).
So it looks like even in times of trouble, Anonymous still has a few cards left to play. Next up on We Are Anonymous, we're going to learn about some kind of revolt that Anonymous started in revenge for the cruelty of their government. But until next time, folks! See you when I see you!
You may have thought that the weapons that backfired were new, experimental weapons that have never been used by Anonymous. After all, those are the types of weapons that go wrong the easiest. But NO, instead the government managed to turn perfectly normal hacker weapons into gadgets that could be utilized by the authorities for their own ends. Take LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon), for example, which were used by the hackers for flooding their target websites in the same conscience as a DDoS attack: Flood the server with a massive amount of requests, causing denial of service.
However, the LOIC also had a critical downside when it came to its users' safety. It could be easily filtered in order for any law enforcers to discover its IP address and with it (the IP address, that is), they could uncover who the hackers were by examining the users of the hackers' IP address at the time of the crime, leading the cops straight to the hackers' doors.
Due to its safety reasons and very high risk of being busted by the feds, some hackers DID need some clarification if LOIC can still be used as a safe hacking weapon. They chatted to each other on the web if they were going to get busted for using LOIC (which someone replied by saying that you could easily get the cops off your track by calmly saying that your computer was infected with spyware), if you could evade it by playing dumb (some people said that you could pretend that you didn't know it was a virus and don't have the slightest idea how it got onto your computer in the first place), which, judging from the hackers' strict knowledge of LOIC, probably wasn't such a good idea.
Obviously, Anonymous needed some other device to replace LOIC. Something that could fire junk (useless files) at websites faster, more powerful and far-reaching. They succeeded, still using the name of LOIC. However, this was a new and improved one LOIC, despite the same name. However, in a short period of time, someone leaked the news to the FBI, who used their own hacking team to shut down the program. Not only that, but PayPal also sent info to the FBI about almost all the attackers of PayPal, creating a LONG hit list for the FBI on Anonymous's members.
However, Anonymous wasn't giving in to arrest THAT easily. There were still many hackers out there still inciting rebellion against the authorities. For example, a few Anonymous members managed to pull off a raid on Sarah Palin's official website. This wasn't the same group that assaulted PayPal and the online payment companies; these were different. Another operation called "OverLoad" became known for hitting EVERY SINGLE ".gov" and ".edu" site they could (and trust me, these hackers know a LOT of sites that end in those words).
So it looks like even in times of trouble, Anonymous still has a few cards left to play. Next up on We Are Anonymous, we're going to learn about some kind of revolt that Anonymous started in revenge for the cruelty of their government. But until next time, folks! See you when I see you!
Friday, March 28, 2014
We Are Anonymous Chapter 7
Hey guys, and welcome back to more We Are Anonymous. Today we are going to learn about a war Anonymous waged with multiple government websites that have bullied other helpless websites. With more weapons and murderous hacking techniques, they will... Hey, you know what? I'll just stop talking and get on with the summary, shall we?
The chapter opens with the unbeknownst attack on one of the web's most popular torrent websites, The Pirate Bay. This website was home to millions of illegal files on the internet you originally would have to pay for in real life. However, in The Pirate Bay, these paid files were pirated and posted on the site and people could buy these files for free. Obviously, with so much fame on the web for providing free files to web users, it eventually became a target for a few "police websites" (basically websites that hunt down and shut down illegal websites) and got shut down by a website.
This website's name is Aiplex, and their alibi was being a website that sold software related to movie business.They were secretly behind the shutdown of The Pirate Bay. When the media eventually found out and asked them about how they pulled it off (the crime, that is), they replied by saying that they DDoS'd the website (basically they enter the target website en masse, causing denial of service and temporary shutdown of the website.
As the Anons were vigilantes, they knew that The Pirate Bay was a website worth fighting for. They (Anonymous, that is) may be hackers, but they fight for the people. A good cause. Following Aiplex's assault on one of the Web's most popular torrent websites, they decided that the most effective and ironic way to dispatch of Aiplex was by giving it a taste of its own medicine.
However, they didn't attack Aiplex YET, they just waited for the right moment to strike. In the meantime, they listed down several other potential government websites that could pose a threat to other torrent websites. After listing the suspects, the Anons called up more than 150 volunteers who were grateful to join the battle against the authorities. They then named the attack Operation "Payback Is A &!+(#", DDoS'ing Aiplex and every other threats on the hit list.
The story then shifts to Topiary's (Jake Davis, remember?) point of view. His family managed to move from that cramped island in Scotland to a less cramped (but still quite uncomfortable) island called Lerwick. Jake didn't find life very different there, since he spent the majority of his time on his computer screen. However, following the news of his father's death, he was somehow encouraged to join Anonymous as "Topiary". After his involvement with the Anons, they (Anonymous, that is) were now ready to move on to a new project.
Due to an accidental leak of crucial information from the USA authorities, WikiLeaks is now classified as "criminal" by American leaders. WikiLeaks was threatened to be removed from the web. Desperately trying to stay online, WikiLeaks attempted (albeit unsuccesfully) to move its site to the servers of Amazon (if you didn't know, Amazon is one of the most well-known websites for online purchases, but I think most people know that already). However, PayPal (one giant in the world of online payment) detected this attempt and cut funding to Amazon servers to stop WikiLeaks from staying on. Soon Visa and MasterCard (also giants in online payment) were encouraged to do the same.
Discovering this act of injustice, Anonymous decided to liberate WikiLeaks by promising to teach all websites that could pose as a potential threat to the (almost) doomed website a lesson. They then started listing down the evildoers, starting from the online payment organizations who cut funding to WikiLeaks until the websites that compromised WikiLeaks refuge in Amazon. After tracking down all the loose ends, it was time for the Anons to tighten them up for good. They used a new hacking technique called a "botnet", which involved sending "bots" that worked almost like DDoS, but was capable of downing multiple websites at a time. However, it required a large amount of operators (which wasn't really a problem for Anonymous) to control every bot.
Despite the number of websites that needed downing, the Anons and their supporters managed to dispatch each and every website that compromised and bullied WikiLeaks. Once again, the vigilantes win over the law enforcers.
Will they score another point for their team the next time they attack other unjust organizations? Or will the law prevail above all else? Well, the odds are certainly not in the Anons' favor in the next chapter. Next time, I will be telling you stories of weapons that backfired on their own users. But that's another chapter for another day. For now, peace out dudes!
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