How Google is the Intellectual Powerhouse of Anonymous
The only thing bigger than the epochal Wikileaks saga is that Anonymous, the “hacktivist” group originating from the 4chan forums, have given serious blows to two major credit card establishments today. The Guardian has a lot of coverage on the topic already, but I was intrigued by a comment in response to someone asking how to “join” Anonymous:
It’s not a club and there’s no sign up. If you want to join, use the internet and figure out how to hack. If you’re lazy or incompetent with scripts, you can download a program to do it for you. If you have any questions (about anything on the internet, ever) like who to target, when, what IP addresses, what programs, how to hack - you can find out from Google. That’s right, Google.
It’s not like any of this stuff is secret or hidden. You can join the flood in less than ten minutes. If you don’t want to get caught, use Google again to figure out how to set yourself up behind a proxy in a country that doesn’t forward trace records to the US. Or use your neighbor’s wifi. If it’s all encrypted, you can find out how to get on it anyway using (you guessed it) Google.
Now, anyone who knows about 4chan will know that Anonymous are essentially geek teenagers getting riled up on impulsive speculation (though I wonder what corners of society have joined the “cause”), but the interesting point here is how this “organisation” can potentially recruit so much computing power so passively, and to anyone with the basic search skills so many of us possess.
Ultimately, Google are the intellectual resource for Anonymous, and thus the root that the US government might want to cut should they want to severe the growth of this punk outfit.
Let’s not forget, it was only weeks ago that Anonymous took on the petty task of taking down Tumblr - and possibly just losing - but the power in numbers from Wikileaks supporters is today making Anonymous a genuine force to be reckoned with. With this kind of power and no moral leadership, let’s just hope they do their best to remain ethical throughout.
-->
Recent comments