Anonymous is back

 

I've been wondering where Anonymous was.  

Miles Taylor outs himself

Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff, has announced that he is “Anonymous,” the senior White House administration official who claimed to be part of a “resistance” working “from within” to thwart President Trump’s “worst inclinations.”

  LA Times

Which wasn't impressive, to be honest.

Taylor, an outspoken Trump critic, tweeted Wednesday that he wrote the 2018 op-ed in the New York Times and a subsequent book. Anonymous’ identity had been hidden until now.

[...]

“[T]oo often in times of crisis, I saw Donald Trump prove he is a man without character, and his personal defects have resulted in leadership failures so significant that they can be measured in lost American lives.”

Taylor, who served as DHS chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, has already endorsed Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential race and created a group for former administration officials who are now public critics of the president.

"Anonymous" writes again

The anonymous Trump administration official who wrote a bombshell New York Times op-ed about resistance efforts within the White House is urging voters to make President Trump a one-term president in a new update to their tell-all book.

As reported by Politico on Monday, the author tells readers in the preface to a new edition of their 2019 bestseller “A Warning” that the president’s reelection “will mean a nation undone” and lead to “a continued downward slide into social acrimony, with the United States fading into the background of a world stage it once commanded, to say nothing of the damage to our democratic institutions.”

[...]

The author reportedly urges other administration officials to use their platforms to speak in a “season of candor” as November inches closer while also warning that “the ranks of advisors who tell the president what he needs to hear, instead of what he wants to hear have thinned.”

  The Hill

Has the anonymous Whiet House source been found?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

White Supremacists May Start Finding Their Online Messages Interrupted

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

They're Turning Barrett Brown Loose

Reportedly to a halfway house in Dallas.  His original release date was April 8, 2017. He's been in custody since September 12, 2012.

Barrett Brown

Techno Revolution?

Errata Security

Yeah, sorry.  I don't believe it.  Anonymous might.  But Silicon Valley programmers making beaucoup bucks?  All hat, no cattle, when it comes to revolution.

On most policy questions, there are two sides to the debate, where reasonable people disagree. Crypto backdoors isn't that type of policy question. It's equivalent to techies what trying to ban guns would be to the NRA.

So the FBI trundles along, as if the opposition were hippies instead of ardent revolutionaries.

  ErrataSec

So, a techie slams people by calling them "hippies". Probably how  FBI agents talk, too.

That's an old, worn out insult that isn't an insult at all. What, I ask you, was wrong with hippies? For the most part, they were peace-loving youngsters who respected the environment and believed in "live and let live". It's an insult in the same way the word "liberal" is. I met a Democrat while living in Galveston who said it's a sad day when you get slammed for caring about people. (He also said he was not from Texas; he was from Galveston, an island south of Texas.)

There will eventually be another major terrorist attack in the United States, and the terrorist will have been using encrypted communications.

With this, I agree. Another FBI "sting".

Julian Sanchez is probably right that at this point, the FBI isn't pushing too hard, and is willing to just pressure companies to get what they want (recovered messages from iCloud backups), and to give populist activists like the EFF easy wins (avoiding full backdoors) to take the pressure off. But in the long run, I believe this issue will become violent.

I'm with George. I won't hold my breath waiting..

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Still Barrett

Journalist (humorist?) Barrett Brown just won a prestigious writing award.  Brown is serving a 5-year sentence for putting a link in an Anonymous chat room to a document dump containing personal information of employees of the security company Stratfor (which Anonymous hacked and collected company emails  subsequently published by Wikileaks).

Fake v. Real Anonymous

How can you tell who's who when the group is called "Anonymous"?

Recently there was a purported Anonymous operation to take down ISIS web presence. Some have suggested this was actually the work of USG agents. At any rate, at least one Anonymous member has assumed that possibility.  Jeremy Hammond, currently sitting in prison after being duped by another hacker who'd been "turned" by the FBI, has written a warning to would-be Anonymous hackers.  Adam Johnson picked up on it:

The same intelligence industry that runs their own NSA hacker operations against ISIS uses the same counter-terrorism justification to spy on everyday civilians with no regards for rights to privacy, encryption, or anonymity. They have always targeted Anonymous and other dissident groups as terrorists, and when they aren’t trying to discredit or imprison us, they are attempting to co-opt us – sometimes openly by attending conference like DEFCON, seducing us with promises of money or calls for patriotic duty, other times covertly lurking around IRC channels attempting to steer us unwittingly into supporting their agenda. Remember, Sabu asked me to hack government websites of Syria and Turkey, among others, which I did, unaware he was an FBI informant. They didn’t want to talk about it at my sentencing hearing, but they did condemn my attacks against police and military contractors at length. The agents out there encouraging you to “hack the terrorists” will have no problem turning around and locking you up for years if you are not useful to their agenda.

[...]

As someone who hacked with Anonymous and marched against the war in Iraq, I completely oppose #OpISIS and any attempts to co-opt our movement into supporting the government’s militaristic agenda. Escalated US military involvement is certainly going to result in more civilian deaths, as it already has. All deaths of innocent civilians are a tragedy, and we cannot value one life over another. (And you are still more likely to be shot down by police than in a terrorist attack.)

[...]

I urge my comrades still out there in the trenches, sitting on some hot 0day, ready to loot databases and trash systems. If you want to stop war and terrorism, target who Martin Luther King Jr. called the “largest purveyor of violence in the word today” – the US government. So Anonymous, get to it – drone manufacturers, white hat infosec contractors, CIA directors, Donald Trump, and your local police department – they all have blood on their hands, they are all fair game.

  Free Jeremy Hammond

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Better Than Bombs

The hactivist collective Anonymous is pledging to launch a war against the Islamic State after Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

In a YouTube video, a member of the group warns in French that the terror group should “expect massive cyberattacks,” according to a translation from CNBC.

[...]

On Twitter, it also issued multiple warnings, touting its hacking skills that will be targeted at ISIS propaganda websites.

  Sun Times national

UPDATE: Is this really Anonymous?

Racism Is Alive and Well in the United states

The hackivist collective Anonymous released a much-anticipated list of people it claims are members or supporters of the Ku Klux Klan on Thursday night.

The group targeted the KKK in the wake of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri.

[...]

Hackers spent 11 months gathering information on the alleged members, the group said, going to great lengths to confirm the identities as best as possible. They used public data and academic records as well as interviews with both experts and some of the KKK members themselves.

[...]

"We hope Operation KKK will, in part, spark a bit of constructive dialogue about race, racism, racial terror and freedom of expression, across group lines," the group said. "The reality is that racism usually does NOT wear a hood but it does permeate our culture on every level. Part of the reason we have taken the hoods off of these individuals is not because of their identities, but because of what their hoods symbolize to us in our broader society."

  Huffington Post

The Official OpKKK HoodsOff 2015 Data Release is linked in the article.

The following video clip of Muhammad Ali answering the meme "all white people aren't racists" is currently circulating widely.  (Click the picture to get there.)

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Hacking Israel

Hackers have struck Israeli websites, authorities said. The attack comes days after Anonymous hacktivists threatened Israel with “the electronic holocaust” which, the group vowed, would “erase it from cyberspace” on April 7 for “crimes” in Palestine.

It is alleged that Anonymous have targeted dozens of websites belonging to Israeli musicians and non-profit organizations, Israel's Computer Emergency Response Team said, adding that the governmental websites were not affected.

[...]

In its March 4 video, Anonymous threatened Israel with “the electronic holocaust” which, the group vowed, would “erase it from cyberspace” back for “crimes” in Palestine.

In the video, a masked figure addresses the Israeli government, saying that it has not “stopped...endless human right violations” and “illegal settlements.”

[...]

“As we did many times, we'll take down your servers, government websites, Israeli military websites, banks, and public institutions. We’ll erase you from cyber-space as we have every year, 7 April 2015, will be an electronic holocaust,” it adds.

[...]

Hacking experts told Arutz Sheva, an Israeli media network, that the hack was carried out mainly by hackers in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

  RT

Attacking musicians and NPOs is like the US going all over the world sanctioning countries, devastating populations, to force regime change.

Oh, what is that? The Israeli Computer Emergency Response Team is lying?

According to the Middle East Eye news portal, several government websites were hacked, including that of the country’s parliament, the Knesset, the court system and the Education Ministry.

Still, lay off the musicians and NPOs.

Oh, yeah…if you did in fact hack them.

I’ve jumbled up the order of the statements in the article, as I often do. Shame on RT for putting the Israeli government’s claims at the beginning of the report and the Anonymous and Middle East Eye claims further down where we might have gotten tired of reading and never learned.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

He Can't Have Been Too Surprised

After all, he went into prison with this announcement: "Good news!—The U.S. government decided today that because I did such a good job investigating the cyber-industrial complex, they’re now going to send me to investigate the prison-industrial complex."

American journalist Barrett Brown, who is serving over five years in prison for his links to the hacktivist collective Anonymous, had his email suspended for a year after he contacted a journalist about potential wrongdoing by the Bureau of Prisons.

[...]

According to its own policy, the Bureau of Prisons allows inmates access to the TRULINCS prisoner e-mail system with certain restrictions.

“Inmates may send electronic messages to securely, efficiently and economically maintain contact with persons in the community. … [but] the CEO prohibits or discontinues its operation, or individual inmates' participation, whenever it is determined to jeopardize the safety, security, or orderly operation of the correctional facility, or the protection of the public and staff.”

  RT

Or tell on us.

Brown was in contact with Glenn Greenwald when his access was cut off.

According to his support group, Brown still has telephone privileges.

Let’s see how long before he loses those.

Operation DeathEaters

Hacktivist group Anonymous will descend upon the houses of “elite” establishment figures whom they claim have been involved in an extensive cover-up of historic child sex abuse and trafficking.

In a video released on YouTube, the group claims to be aware of a document which, if uncovered, would lead to the revelation of numerous establishment figures involved in the cover-up of child abuse spanning decades and continents.

  RT

Should George H.W. Bush be concerned?

One activist told Sky News: “This isn’t a situation where we are looking to create mayhem. It’s about giving the public information so we can confront these problems that go back decades.

“The stories that are coming out are the torture and murder of children with our trusted politicians and that is unacceptable.”

Will it tarnish the halo over St. Ronnie the Reagan’s head?

“If you are thinking ‘Kill the Bad Guys’ is the solution, you have no idea. We need nothing less than a complete examination of who we are,” it adds.

They call those who have abused their positions of power to participate in sexual abuse of children “Death Eaters” and say it is not only a problem in the UK.

[...]

The protest comes weeks after Home Secretary Theresa May announced the latest chairman of the Historic Sex Abuse Inquiry, examining a suspected Westminster pedophile ring which operated during the 1980s.

The inquiry has been plagued with problems since its inception in 2014, with both its previous chairs, Fiona Woolf and Baroness Butler-Sloss, stepping down amid conflicts-of-interest scandals.

Right. It’s not going to lead anywhere if the politicians themselves are “investigating”. Be careful out there Anonymous. You’ll be as wanted and hunted as Ed Snowden for this op.

Former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection center (CEOP), Jim Gamble, told Sky News: “It's fraught with so many difficulties.”

He welcomed any attempts to come forward to police with information targeting pedophiles, but warned that working outside a framework could result in “reckless disclosure” that might “ruin lives.”

Politicians’ lives, he’s talking about. Because children’s don’t matter, of course.

NYT: 1988

Washington Times 1989:

Anonymous Takes Down IS Sites

The hacktivist group Anonymous says it has targeted dozens of websites and social media accounts used by the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) to recruit new members and disseminate propaganda.

[...]

“Remember, the terrorists that are calling themselves Islamic State (IS) are not Muslims. ISIS, we will hunt you, take down your sites, accounts, emails, and expose you. From now on, no safe place for you online,” the group said in a statement.

[...]

According to the Hacker News, Twitter has already suspended more than 1,500 IS accounts since the group released its first list in June.

Anonymous also said it planned on launching a series of attacks against states it accused of funding IS.

“We plan on sending a straightforward message to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and all other countries that evidently supply ISIS for their own gain,” an Anonymous source told Forbes in June.

  RT

So, do we hate Anonymous now or love them?

Amend the Dictionary

The prominent Anonymous “hacktivist” Jeremy Hammond, who participated in some of the hacking collective’s most audacious cyber acts, was placed by the FBI on a terrorism watchlist, the Daily Dot reported on Monday.

The internet news website obtained a leaked document from the New York state division of criminal justice services that shows Hammond was classified as a “possible terrorist organisation member”. The document is marked “destroy after use” and includes the instruction: “Do not advise this individual that they are on a terrorist watchlist.”

  Guardian

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Anonymous Reacts to Charlie Hebdo Attack

In wake of the terrorist attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, Anonymous is striking back by taking down pro-jihadist social network accounts and websites.

The #francophone chapter of Anonymous posted information about its latest endeavor, christened #OpCharlieHebdo, on Pastebin. The message is entirely in French and is a call to arms about freedom of speech.

[...]

"Freedom of expression is a non-negotiable thing; an attack on it is an attack on democracy. Get ready for a massive reaction and frontal assault, because defending liberty is at the heart of our movement."

[...]

So far, it's taken down Ansar-Alhaqq, a site where some French-speaking militant Islamists tend to congregate, and has asked its followers to find terrorist Twitter profiles and report them. Interestingly, the Twitter feed also makes it clear that #OpCharlieHebdo does not condone racism or the conflation of Islam and terrorism, and has no interest in taking down ordinary Muslim sites.

  Yahoo

Latest on the Barrett Brown Case

In 2009, Barrett [Brown] founded Project PM, “dedicated to investigating private government contractors working in the secretive fields of cybersecurity, intelligence, and surveillance.” He was particularly instrumental in using documents obtained by the hacktivist collective Anonymous to expose secret collaboration between the government and various contractors. The covert factions Barrett’s work threatened are powerful, and fought back. Two years ago, Barrett was arrested and threatened with 100 years in prison—yes, you read that correctly—allegedly for threatening an FBI agent, concealing evidence, and linking to a website that contained stolen credit card numbers. The allegations themselves are sufficiently preposterous, and the threatened sentence sufficiently draconian, to make it clear that Barrett [...] is in fact being persecuted as an example to anyone else who would dare challenge America’s Deep State.

Eventually, Barrett signed a plea deal on three of the lesser charges against him, the other charges were dropped, and the threatened sentence reduced from over a hundred to eight and a half years. His sentencing hearing has been repeatedly scheduled and then delayed, and is currently set for December 16.

  Barry Eisler at BoingBoing

Brown’s hearing was on December 16, but the judge moved sentencing to January 22.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Ratchet Up

The message claims the names of several Anonymous members have already been obtained, including that of “Commander X,” described as ”The Grand Wizard Of Anonymous,” and another member operating under the handle @TrezSec.

“You pathetic n***** lovers are going down, we’re NOT HIDING. WE’RE NOT ASHAMED OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE REPRESENT. THE INVISIBLE EMPIRE CANNOT AND WILL NOT BE OVERTHROWN, [sic]” the message signed with Anacona’s name read. “We will hunt you down and tear those masks from your face. You’ll be strung up next to the chimps. On display for the whole world to see. The Klan is to be feared, not threatened.”

[...]

On Thursday, Anonymous released a video claiming they had information from a whistleblower which they say would link the KKK to the Ferguson Police Department. The group will not release the information, however, saying its specificity would ultimately reveal the source. Instead, they vow to “hold this information until we can connect the dots ourselves.”

  RT

Really, though, such a link would not be unusual, I wouldn’t think. Surely there are KKK members on numerous Missouri police departments.

This Anonymous video should keep the ball rolling.  Someone "directly" connected to Darren Wilson's police girlfriend has given them the KKK link connection and is fearful for his/her life.  Anonymous, therefore, does not reveal that source's name or the specific information provided, saying they will find another way to make the connection on their own before revealing it.  I'm guessing that statement alone will put their source under suspicion at the police department.   It can't have given the source any less to fear.

Anonymous vs. KKK

Apparently, Frank Ancona of a KKK Missouri chapter has been distributing leaflets about using lethal force against Ferguson protesters.

Anonymous has already gotten in the fray.

I'm guessing some KKK sympathizer reported it.  But, here's the transcript at ZDNet:

KKK Twitter accounts insulted and mocked Anonymous on the microblogging site until Sunday evening when Anonymous declared a victory in the form of snatching the account of @KuKluxKlanUSA.

[...]

UPDATE November 16: This post has been updated to add a second Twitter account takeover by Anonymous (@YourKKKCentral) and a website attack on the KKK, as well as ZDNet having received the following unconfirmed message two hours after this article's publication:

Also.... we have compromised personal accounts (which give us more faces), tied up their phone lines and filled every voicemail and inbox with love. We have barely scratched the surface, keep that pencil out....

We do not forgive. We do not forgive. We are Anonymous. Expect us.

  ZDNet

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.