Censorship on the net has long been a rallying cause for the Anonymous collectivity, and the past several years have seen them take on repressive governments in Malaysia (2011), Zimbabwe (2010), India (2012), and Turkey (2013). Some of the group's more ambitious actions have been against the Chinese government, with a series of hacks over a number of years. In 2012, over 400 websites belonging to government and commercial offices were hacked and defaced with vitriolic messages of varying degrees. Anonymous claimed its attacks were spawned from government abuse and repression of the people, and that they would continue until such behaviour stopped. The day after the defacing attacks, Anonymous hit again, this time releasing over 500 email addresses and over 800 personal phone numbers, all belonging to Chinese governmental officials. Several sites were down for a significant time, the Who song Baba ORiley" playing in the background. Even more epic was the groups alleged involvement with the exposure of two Chinese hackers suspected of stealing military secrets from the United States. Following their famous cyber-raid on HBGary Federal (which we will discuss later in this list), part of the information Anonymous stole and released contained vital information in tracking down members of the group APT1, Chinese hackers long-sought after by the US government. These releases exposed illegal activities by the Chinese government and was an embarrassment for both US and Chinese officials.
David Wagner is an author/musician who splits his time between Oakland, CA and Istanbul, Turkey.
David has published two novels, both available on his website, and as a fan of movies, comics, and genre television, he is happy to be working with WhatCulture as a regular contributor.
