Anonymous has taken on some of the sacred cows of global power, first and foremost being their attacks on the Vatican. In 2011, an Anonymous group failed to take down the Vaticans main website: claiming their attacks were not against the followers of the Catholic Church, but against the Church itself for corruption, greed, and unlawful behaviour. Their second attack in 2012 proved more successful - an epic hack in sheer magnitude alone. Though they gained control of the site for up to two hours, the group could not penetrate the Churchs security, so they went with a massive DDoS bomb, managing to keep the site down most of the day. Their Vatican hack led to an analysis of their methods by the security group Imperva, and has informed the evolution of corporate web security over recent years: in turn, leading to the evolution of Anonymous methods and proficiency. The fact that they cracked the Vaticans public shell is a grand feat, with lasting consequences for both sides of this ongoing social conflict.
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.
