A leader of the computer hackers group known as Anonymous is threatening new attacks on major U.S. corporations and government officials as part of at an escalating “cyberwar” against the citadels of American power.
“It’s a guerilla cyberwar — that’s what I call it,” said Barrett Brown, 29, who calls himself a senior strategist and “propagandist” for Anonymous. He added: “It’s sort of an unconventional, asymmetrical act of warfare that we’ve involved in. And we didn’t necessarily start it. I mean, this fire has been burning.”
A defiant and cocky 29-year-old college dropout, Brown was cavalier about accusations that the group is violating federal laws. He insisted that Anonymous members are only policing corporate and governmental wrongdoing — as its members define it.
The group known as Anonymous reportedly formed around 2003 as an outgrowth of the influential Internet message board 4chan, a forum popular with hackers and gamers. The group's name came from the early days of 4chan, when a post to its forums where no name was given listed the author as "Anonymous." A spokesman for the group, identified only as “Coldblood” told Britain’s Guardian newspaper in December that the group has about 1,000 members, many of them teenagers. When appearing in web videos, members have disguised themselves with Guy Fawkes masks popularized by the book and film “V for Vendetta.”
Note EU-Digest: Anonymous apparently has done commendable work in assisting the freedom fighters in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle East countries.
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