5. Operation Avenge Assange
With 'Operation Payback', Anonymous sponsored attacks against internet censorship, carrying out a series of hacks over a span of years: the payback in question evolving into a powerful defence of WikiLeaks, and its founder Julian Assange. At the end of 2010, Assange and his nonprofit organization WikiLeaks came under immense pressure to cease and desist the leaking of secret government files, including damaging documents concerning the Iraq and Afghan Wars. In response to the increase of political pressures, top companies (including MasterCard, PayPal, Amazon and Bank of America) either stopped working with WikiLeaks or denied them funds that were owed. Anonymous responded with a series of LOIC attacks, shutting down PayPal and the Swiss bank PostFinance accused of closing Assanges bank account. Soon after, Operation Assange knocked both MasterCard and Visa offline and continued its attacks on PayPal. At one point, the group managed to take down the CIA website for over five hours. Following these attacks, HBGary security CEO was preparing to out several key Anonymous members implicated in Avenge Assange. Anonymous responded swiftly and aggressively, breaking into HBGarys servers, destroying data, defacing its website, and publishing confidential emails for the world to see. They brought HBGary's CEO to his knees, proving to the world that this was a force not to be reckoned with.