Taking down Sony related websites? That's fine. Targeting Sony employees and their families? That's just a little too far in my humble opinion.
Hacker group Anonymous has declared war against Sony for their "unforgivable" greed and in retaliation for taking fellow hacker GeoHot (and others) to court for publicly posting the PS3's security keys. Yesterday it seemed more like fun and games; the group took down a handful of Sony sites with DDoS attacks and brought the PlayStation Network to a halt. But last night's developments prove that Anonymous are turning things up quite a few notches – possibly too far.
Most of the following information comes from the #OpSony IRC, where Anonymous are working together to plan additional attacks. There (and on another IRC, #SonyRecon) they are gathering personal information on top Sony executives – such as Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corp., Sir Howard Stringer. Another executive, Robert S. Wiesenthal, has had his entire life posted publicly on the 'net, including details about his family members, his age, address and education.
#SonyRecon creator insists that anyone working with Sony, including the lawyers representing Sony in the GeoHot case and the judge overseeing the case, are "all valid targets".
It doesn't stop there. Anonymous is also resorting to more guerrilla-like tactics that will serve to harass these "targets" at a more personal level. Here's a short listing of some of the attacks suggested:
- Craigslist – Make a ad in the “free stuff” section, or in “erotic services” and “casual encounters” as is evident here there are many horny men who will relentlessly pursue someone who they believe to be 19/f.
- STD Postcards – send one of these e-postcards notifying the target that one of their previous sexual partners has a STD. Makes for an uncomfortable wait for them. Alternatively call an AIDS hotline and ask them to anonymously tell the target they could have HIV, thats a 6 month wait until the test comes back.
- Free UPS Boxes create an account and order the target a couple of hundred boxes & labels, fedex also offer free boxes.
- Google Maps use Google maps to locate local businesses to mess with the target.
- Call them: Skype – Use skype to call the target. When you first register a skype account you get one free call…
- IP Relay – Ask the operator not to announce at the start of the call. This is a service only available to people in the USA.
Another Anonymous member claims to have called the judge overseeing the case on his phone, leaving the Youtube sensation "Chocolate Rain" on his voicemail. While that may not be the scariest thing to hear on your voicemail, knowing that these people have your information and that you're vulnerable to additional attacks must be incredibly unsettling. Especially when we're only into the second day of attacks and things continue to escalate.
As stated in the video they released yesterday, Anonymous will not stop the attacks until they feel they have been "satisfied". We'll bring you updates on the situation when appropriate.
Yesterday we saw a mixed bag of comments – some supporting the goal of Anonymous while others condemned it. Now that the attacks have escalated to include innocent family members, has your opinion on the matter changed? Do you think that Anonymous may be going too far to prove their point? Let us know in the comments below.
[Via]
