Anonymous

Effectiveness of Anonymous as an actor 1. Anonymous has been able to successfully hack and bring down several government websites and internal systems. a. During Operation Egypt Anonymous successfully took down all Egyptian Government websites until Mubarak stood down from his position as leader. b. Anonymous successfully hacked over 90 Malaysian government websites in response to Malaysia blocking websites Wikileaks and The Pirate Bay. c. In protest to Australian Censorship of the Internet, Anonymous successfully disabled several government websites, and used the websites of elected officials to promote banned materials. 2. Private Corporations and Organizations have also been successfully hacked by Anonymous. a. Anonymous successfully hacked Bank of Americas computers and distributed corporate emails documenting corruption and fraud. b. Through a Google Bomb technique, Anonymous successfully made the Church of Scientology the first search for Dangerous Cult and Brainwashing Group on Google. c. Anonymous infiltrated and hacked the website of Internet Security firm HBGary Federal, leaking 68,000 emails detailing attacks made against Wikileaks as well as detailing day zero exploits of security software. 3. Anonymous hacktivism has lead to positive change and done more than just bring down a few computers. a. After the attacks on its systems, the Australian government has postponed the bill by over a year and its no longer expected to pass. b. During Operation Leakspin, members of Anonymous sifted through, summarized and publicized the most overlooked and important Wikileaks. c. Because of the high profile nature of its attacks, Anonymous has gotten attention from news organizations and brings awareness to the message and objective.