UNMASKING
ANONYMOUS
Keren Elazari
www.k3r3n3.com
behind the scenes
of the hacker
underground –
remove the mask
and learn about
the inspirations,
techniques and
motivations that
made the
Anonymous
hacktivst
movement a force
to be reckoned
“ONE MAN’S TERRORIST IS ANOTHER’S FREEDOM
FIGHTER?” WOULD YOU AGREE?
This is quote from V, a dark, vengeful
vigilante who strives to liberate the masses
from an oppressive regime. V is of course
a fictional character
The anti hero of the Graphic novel V for
Vendetta, created by Alan Moore in 1982,
and adapted to film 2006
V was inspired by a real
chap called Guy Fawkes
who conspired the
“Gunpowder plot” to blow
up the British House of
Lords on November 5
1605 . Perhaps the
world’s first act of modern
political terror. Therefor
this mask is shaped after
his likeness
So are they terrorist than? Well, Anonymous claimed Guy Fawkes as
“recontextualized symbol”. A symbol for VIGILANTISM, OF THE VOX POPULI, for
the VENGEFUL PROTECTORS OF THOSE WHO CAN NOT PROTECT
THEMSELVES
As the boldest
HACKTIVST m
Anonymous u
shield to prote
a symbol for in
power of ideas
decentralized
can be a hero
But who are these masked masses, and
how did they come together?
It all started here, a website called 4CHAN, also known
as the Internet's scariest place. It’s a notorious image
board.
WWW.4CHAN.ORG
it’s “random”
section, /b/, a
breeding
ground of
many internet
memes and
viral jokes –
but also,
Anonymous. In
fact, the very
name derives
from the
anonymous
posting
methods on
4chan –
WWW.4CHAN.ORG/B/
So, How did we go from THIS? A site filled
with internet jokes, my little ponies and
funny cats
How did we come from THIS, to THIS?
Massive protest in london, Guy Fawkes
Night, 2012
A more realistic, less orderly version of the
massive demonstration scene in the V for
Vendetta movie . So why?
Because of this guy. In early 2008, “secret”
tom cruise scientology videos began
appearing online. The church attempted to
censor those videos threatening sites who
posted them with legal actions
This got 4chan into action. “the internet doesn’t like it when you try to remove things
from it”. they began with denial-of-service attacks(DDoS), and prank calls,
PROJECT CHANOLOGY
Within a few weeks, they took FROM THE KEYBOARDS TO STREETS – WITH
MASSIVE, YET nonviolent DEMONSTRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD.
PROJECT CHANOLOGY
THE MASKS AS PROTECTION OF THEIR IDENTITY FROM LITIGIOUS
SCIENTOLOGISTS.
THAT WAS 6 YEARS AGO, AND SINCE THEN, THEY HAVE GONE GLOBAL –
AND THEIR TARGETS HAVE VARIED. But their methods – haven't changed so
much. Anonymous was born online and so it thrives on social media, in graphic
mediums like images boards & youtube – I’d like to show you how they use them.
Their techniques were solidified In 2010, when US GOV ordered PAYPAL, VISA
and MASTERCARD to stop funds donated to WikiLeaks. Anonymous came
together to protect WIKILEAKS – so it’s not removed from the web
Attacking VISA in
support of Wikileaks
Twitter called for DdoS attacks on
Mastercard – using their form of digital
weapons
Evolved their use of graphics and symbols – but always making their tools accessible.
This isn’t a secretive effort – anyone can join!
DDOS – THE WEAPON OF
CHOICE
The goal of most attacks is a massive
DoS attack, that will disrupt or overload
“offending” websites for a short time –
a TANGO DOWN, take down of the site -
Using an automated tool that enables this - making it easy to use.
LOW ORBIT ION CANON
Taking the automated approach one step further – Anons have created a way to link
all “cannons” together so that they are targeting the same sites in sync – working as
legion.
HIVEMIND – REMOTE CONTROL
There is also a newer version of their cannon, with “boosters” to Improve attacks,
multiple targets, and a way to create custom http headers that allow one cannon to
seem as though appearing from multiple sources
HIGH ORBIT ION CANON
ANONYMOUS OS
These tools are also available
in a linux Live CD , the
“Anonymous OS” with
everything one needs.
by using automated tools
and synchronous
targeting, Anonymous
lowers the participation
threshold –they make it
very accessible!
Which leads me to their TWITTER TACTICS - an immediate audience of millions, who
retweet, react, respond, rebroadcast their messages
translate them to localized versions of their videos and twits – again, making it super
easy for people to join – and they are really good at spreading the word
There are dozens of accounts associated with Anonymous in some way
And they create
likeable, sharable
images which
compel viewers to
participate –
meant to provoke
the passive web
user into action,
even if it’s just the
RT button
Not only easy to
participate – it’s
also easy to
recreate your
ANON OPS DO IT
YOURSELF!
DO IT YOURSELF!
Anonymous is decentralized, anyone can claim to be a representative of the group.
All you need to do is make an info graphic , post it on 4chan , Reddit , PasteBin,
spread the word with social media. DON’T FORGET A COOL NAME !
Attack
Tools
4Chan,
Pastebin
Reddit
HACKTIVISM VS.
CLICKTIVISM?
In fact it’s so easy, some have called it Clicktivism – using cyberspace for protest.
In an age when People are distraught with governments, with corporates, with
multinational organizations and with injustice and corruption –
– they want to throw tomatoes at someone, something – anonymous provides the
tomatoes –but also – the tomato catapults, making the effect much bigger
And this gives everyone a
chance to be part of something
bigger, a form of political
expression
But there’s more – as worldwide Anonymous masks emerge, this movement of
empowered citizens becoming vigilantes is closely tied with the rising tide of civil unrest
and popular revolutions around the world – in Rezi Park, Istanbul
By the side of the “little citizen” against the big brother – whether it’s an oppressive
government, an internet censorship law or a corrupt corporate
Even established
politicians have
seized on this
potential – these
are Polish
Members of
parliament ,
showing their
opposition to
ACTA treaty that
would hinder free
speech
it’s happening right now Venezuela: as millions of Venezuelans are protesting against
violence and state corruption. The military has been responding with lethal force:
several students lost their life in the riots. There’s a massive lockdown of media and
the internet is heavily censored, if not blocked. Yet - I knew this was happening days
before CNN picked up on it. I knew because hackers told me. They who were
already there, helping protestors bypass censorship and getting the message out to
the world.
Hackers like Anonymous, the merry band
of internet vigilantes
Helping them to
come together,
join forces and
spread their
message
further
You can call them
the rude boys of
activism,
chaotic,
whimsical, or
dangerous . and
yes, they often
break the rules.
what I like about
is they do two
things very well:
grab the spotlight
for their causes
and they can
spread
information fast.
Much like
Robin Hood
they are in the
business of
redistribution.
What they steal
isn’t money, or
information: it’s
attention.
s provides a global platform for
political voices.
And in our world, it seems providing a VOICE to THE VOICELESS, and
COUNTERING CENSORSHIP & OPPRESION – are important.
HACKTIVISTS
ARE HERE TO STAY
They yielding a new type of force online – the question is, how will you
acknowledge it? POLITICAL, OR NOT, it’s a super power in the information age
WWW.K3R3N3.COM
TWITTER: @K3R3N3
THANK YOU!
MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT HACKTIVISM:
• CULT OF THE DEAD COW – TELECOMIX / ANONYMOUS
• TECHNOLOGY ENABLING PEOPLE TO SHOW THE BIG BOSS WHOS THE REAL BOSS
• COMING TOGETHER, MANY VOICES
• ONE INDIVUDAL CAN MAKE A CHANGE (Manning, Snowden, Swartz)
• ANONYMOUS SOMETIMES SUPPORTS DIGITAL PROTEST AGINAT ISRAEL
• I find it’s better to get DDoSed than terrorist bombers on the corner
• Hacktivism as nonviolent protest
• http://www.mysciencework.com/news/11082/from-hacking-to-freedom-fighting
Placeholder for Risk your own freedom for
the freedom of the web?
HIVEMIND – REMOTE
CONTROL
HIGH PROFILE TARGETS
Australia
Austria
The
Vatican
Syria