Anonymous Targets Facebook For A January 28 Attack [UPDATED]

Hacktivist group Anonymous may have Facebook in its cross hairs for an attack at midnight January 28, no time zone specified. This potentially makes the social network the latest victim in Anonymous' path of destruction since file-sharing service Megaupload was raided by the federal government. A facebook spokesperson told us via email: We expect Anonymous just like we expect any other attack on any other day. Due to our size, we face the same threats as seen everywhere else on the web, but we have developed partnerships, backend systems, and protocols to confront the full range of security challenges we face. Facebook has always been committed to protecting our users' information, and we will continue to innovate and work tirelessly to defend this data. We recall the hacktivist group's previous threats against Facebook not bearing fruit, and thus question whether this latest one will pan out. The video below was posted on an Anonymous-affiliated YouTube account, as reported by Silicon Alley Insider, and its description on YouTube contains a URL to download a program that will reportedly enable Anonymous and its supporters to crash the social network's servers. PCMag.com reports that CBS.com fell victim to Anonymous Sunday morning, and the Department of Justice, the Recording Industry Association of America, Universal Music Group, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the U.S. Copyright Office suffered similar fates last week, according to Gizmodo. The only "bright spot," if there is such a thing, for Facebook users: Anonymous attacks target the sites and their sources, and not individual users, so the worst thing that will happen is not being able to access the social network, but users' account information will not be compromised. Of course, since we are dealing with the "honor" of a group of hackers, this should be taken with a grain of salt. Following are highlights from the description of the Anonymous video on YouTube (we did not include the URL that enables users to download the malicious program, for obvious reasons): Hello, people of the world. We are Anonymous. The time has come. An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people, and the government of the U. St. While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this does not guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld. For those unaware, there is still ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. You, the public, I have a proposal. Would you like to become part of the greatest Internet protest and first official cyber war? Anonymous is in the hands of us all. It is time to take action. Operation global blackout is ongoing, and everyone can be a part of it. In the description I have provided everything you will need. Our first target: Facebook. While it is true that Facebook has at least 60,000 servers, it is still possible to bring it down. This will not work if everyone does it at random times. This is why I would like to conduct this operation at exactly 12 a.m. January 28 -- a five-day preparation. That way, we will have a stronger army built up to fight for our rights. Do not fear: There is no way you can get caught. Hundreds of thousands of us citizens and those of the Anonymous idea will all be participating. They cannot take down that large of a group. Readers, what do you think will come of Anonymous' latest threat?

Social Pro Daily

Anonymous Targets Facebook For A January 28 Attack [UPDATED]

Hacktivist group Anonymous may have Facebook in its cross hairs for an attack at midnight January 28, no time zone specified.

David Cohen

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David Cohen