Anonymous Speaks About Australian Gov't. Attacks 235
daria42 writes "The loose-knit collective of individuals known as 'Anonymous' has broken its silence about the distributed denial of service attacks on the Australian government. An individual (who insisted he or she is not a spokesperson for the group) said the attacks were more effective at stopping the government's Internet filtering project than signing a petition, and that the attacks could go on for months." The site where some members of Anonymous are said to hang out, 4chan, got a visibility boost yesterday when its founder moot spoke at the TED conference.
Hmm (Score:4, Interesting)
I've never heard of this site, "fourchan". It seems like its a pretty cool activist site. Can someone tell me more about it? I'd go there, but my ISP is blocking it :(
Democracy in action. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hmm (Score:1, Interesting)
I was wondering how many comments down it would be before 4chan got mentioned. Second post for the internet rules, then this.
I'm an Australian citizen, and I don't much like Australian politics! COME GET ME NOW!
Re:Impossible! (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually its a bit more than that. You could say that slashdot is the "Bastard hybrid of a punch of bored 18 year old CS students, a completely misinformed group of editors, and a legion of bored in-IT-for-the-money near or middle aged men. The only difference between Slashdot readers and Anonymous is that Anonymous makes an impact on the world.
So - whatever your views about them are, positive or negative, realize that they do earn some merit.
Re:Good Gravy (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah, let me know when you see Anonymous on there.
"Anonymous" is on 4chan all the time. He also posts on this site quite a bit, but we've made it our official position to question his courage. "Anonymous" shows up everywhere, and that's exactly the point.
We're not talking about a person or even a group called "Anonymous". The point is that it's a ad hoc collection of anonymous people. Are the anonymous on 4chan or the anonymous on Slashdot the same as the anonymous creating this attack? Well... not as a group. It's not like it's all the Slashdot Anonymous Cowards are a codified group somewhere making subversive plans. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone involved in the Australian attack had posted here as AC at least once.
Re:Not a sit in (Score:1, Interesting)
DDoS in 3 easy steps:
Monitor which routes with adjacent routes to your target network carry the most VoIP data. (Vonage and pals)
Initiate a coordinated ARP poisoning attack, to redirect that flow of heavy, high QoS demanding traffic from the routes they currently use, through a new route through the network you want to cripple. (say, the ISP, or datacenter that hosts the AU govt websites, or access)
actively maintain the ARP poisoning to keep the route from switching back.
Sit back with a margarita, and enjoy the fireworks.
Re:How isn't this a form of terrorism? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm glad you pointed out the definition of 'terrorism'. Those particular words were well thought out, I believe.
How much real fear in instilled in you, the Australian people, the Australian government, or the target site's admins as a result of this event? Any fear at all? Is this fear a reasonable response to this event? It's just computer systems and public websites, after all. Do you equate 'inconvenience' with 'danger'?
We're being conditioned to experience fear when we're told, on demand. We're told that an attack against a server is an attack on the people and therefore the expected response is fear, nee 'Terror'. As an individual, I ask you if you choose what you are afraid of? Do you hold in yourself the determination behind your actions, your beliefs, and your responses to external events? Do events out of your control cause you to fear them and their instigators because you believe that you are truly in danger, or because you have been conditioned to respond as if it were so by people who have a specific interest and benefit by your fearful response?
If you want to call these events 'Acts of Terrorism', if you want to be afraid, please do so on your own terms and not those handed to you along with the blindfold and handcuffs. You are a powerful individual, my friend, and you are capable of deciding for yourself what is right if you will only objectively view the events and effects that you experience. Keep that power to yourself, instead of simply handing it off to those who would manipulate you for their gain.
Re:Impossible! (Score:4, Interesting)
Like the sibling post says, many slashdotters ARE 4channers.
I never really said they were bad, I don't consider 4chan any more evil than I do a hurricane. If anything I think of Anonymous as a sort of physical collective superego and id for the internet with no mediating ego, they're more like a force of nature than anything else.
Re:Good Gravy (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Impossible! (Score:3, Interesting)