'Anonymous' Hacking Group Threatens The Internet
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The group Anonymous has threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday to protest anti-piracy proposals that they consider online censorship. Here, a masked protester demonstrates against one such measure last month in Zagreb, Croatia, last month.
The group Anonymous has threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday to protest anti-piracy proposals that they consider online censorship. Here, a masked protester demonstrates against one such measure last month in Zagreb, Croatia, last month.
The mysterious group of hackers who go by the name "Anonymous" have threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday. Or not.
The confusion comes from the very nature of the group, which is amorphous and has no identifiable leadership. Several weeks ago, a group identifying itself as Anonymous announced "Operation Global Blackout," the effect of which would be to bring Web surfing to a halt.
Cybersecurity experts doubt the operation would have more than a limited effect, given the layers of protection built into the Internet architecture.
The Anonymous group itself, meanwhile, appeared divided over the plan. A Twitter account normally associated with Anonymous included several statements on Friday denying any effort to shut down the Internet.
"For the billionth time: #Anonymous will not shut down the Internet on 31 March," said one.
"What is this #OperationGlobalBlackout nonsense?" said another. "Stop asking us about it!"
The contradictions highlighted the difficulty of assessing whether a hacking threat should be attributed to Anonymous or to hackers merely posing as Anonymous
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'Anonymous' Hacking Group Threatens The Internet