[clug] Why the web has gone sour

[Lana Brindley]

On 15 February 2010 09:45, Steve Walsh <steve at nerdvana.org.au> wrote:

> steve jenkin wrote:
>
>> Can anyone explain to me the thinking behind the "We are Anonymous"
>> attack that took down some sites last week?
>> I can't fathom their motives or thinking.
>>
>>
> it is a "hacker" group called "Legion" that was behind other attacks on
> federal government websites last year. basically a bunch of what appear to
> be people with nothing better to do that proclaim "we are legion. we are
> everywhere, we. are. watching". If they really want to watch what I do at
> night with the lights off, then I give them 10 minutes before they're
> reaching for the brain bleach and a scrubbing brush.


I thought it was Anonymous, but they used the tagline "We are legion"?

"Legion" in this case, meaning a large group of armed warriors, not
necessarily a proper noun. Perhaps that's just me interpreting it
incorrectly though?



>
>  It isn't lawful, AFAIK. But I couldn't say what laws it might violate.
>> So you might expect it wasn't done by "Professionals" in the Industry
>> where it would violate their Code of Ethics (illegal activity is a NoNo).
>>
>> So who are the experts with resources & bandwidth (and time) who are
>> doing the attacking??
>>
>>
> They use a botnet to run a DDoS against the sites. One control node running
> in an IRC room controls hundreds of affected machines. Repeat ad-infinitum
> per 13yo using mum's wireless broadband in the back room, and you've got
> yourself a "hacking" group.
>
>
Think 4Chan.

People on this list should know as well as anyone else that if you are a
geek and a hacker (in the non-illegal sense of the word), then you don't go
home at 5pm and stop being those things. Many hackers (legal variety) are
prone to going home at night and being hackers (illegal variety). Then
again, most of those people wouldn't see it as being necessarily a bad
thing. I think in the case of Anonymous at least, it is seen as championing
free speech, even if the methods used are illegal. I suggest you read any of
Kevin Mitnick's books for a sense of how people do illegal things in the
name of honour, freedom, and human rights.

L


-- 
Cheers! Lana

There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being
comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make
up your mind  not to be happy there's no reason why you shouldn't have a
fairly good time.
 - Edith Wharton

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