11 Things You Didn't Know About Anonymous

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They will Kill You
Published on Sep 14, 2018
Things you didn't know about Anonymous. These geniuses are known for their actions,
but their identities are still unknown. Here are incredible facts about the secret
group of hackers.

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Voiceover by Carl Mason: carlito1705@icloud.com

11 What It Is
Anonymous is an international decentralized hacktivist group that has drawn its
notoriety from the various DDoS cyber-attacks launched against corporations,
governments, institutions, the Church of Scientology and other organizations. As
hacktivists, some members of Anonymous use their knowledge of computer systems and
networks in a subversive manner in order to promote different facets of the group�s
philosophy.
10 How It Started
The roots of Anonymous can be traced back to 2003, to a 4chan message board. The
site�s /b/ board was the first place where the term �anonymous� was used as a
shared identity for a collective of unnamed individuals.
9 Philosophy
In 2012, Time magazine called Anonymous one of the �100 most influential people� in
the world. Yet, in its early days Anonymous was more of an expression of anarchic
entertainment and trolling culture. This was also reflected by �doing it for the
lulz�, one of the common phrases used by its members. As the group started gaining
attention it began to develop a voice focused on social change. A long-standing and
even divisive argument within the group debated whether Anonymous should primarily
stand for entertainment and pranking or for serious activism. Since the group
consists of thousands of members, it�s fairly difficult to outline a central
philosophy.
8 Symbolism
There�s a tagline that�s frequently used by Anonymous members and this is �We are
Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.� This
indicates that the group doesn�t work for the objectives of a single leader but
rather as a unit that�s unrelenting in its resolve once it collectively agrees upon
an objective. The group�s anonymity and lack of a central governing authority is
also reflected in its emblem that depicts a man with a question mark instead of a
head.
7 Being Anonymous
As Anonymous puts it, you can�t join Anonymous, as it isn�t a party, a club or even
a movement. In a YouTube video Anonymous refers to itself as a collection of people
who travel the same short direction for a short period of time. Becoming an Anon
requires nothing in exchange. However, taking part in more elaborate Anonymous
stunts most likely involves building relationships and proving yourself as a
hacker. Anonymous operates a revolving door of people with various backgrounds and
philosophies.
6 Attacks
As recent history has proven, Anonymous will pick a fight with any entity that it
views as being corrupted. The Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attack has
traditionally been the group�s main form of subversion. This type of attack crashes
a network by overloading it with information, basically rendering a website
unusable for a period of time. It�s the equivalent of a small website abruptly
increasing in popularity and being unable to cope with the increase in traffic
flow. Anonymous DDoS attacks are launched from a type of software called the �low-
orbit ion cannon� or LOIC.
5 Project Chanology
Project Chanology enhanced the Anonymous scope of operations beyond trolling to
include hacktivism. In 2008, the Church of Scientology attempted to remove a clip
from the Internet in which church member Tom Cruise was praising the religion.
Anonymous retaliated to what the group perceived as being a form of Internet
censorship. Anons sent black faxes to deplete the church�s ink cartridges, prank
called its hotlines and DDoS attacks were launched across Scientology websites.
4 Operation Payback
By September 2010, Anonymous all but lost its media coverage and Anons had become
divided between those seeking to wreak havoc for pure amusement and those that
wanted to remain politically active. Indian software company Aiplex Software would
unwillingly bridge the Anonymous divide. Aiplex contracted with film studios as
well as record labels and was using Anonymous-like tactics to take down copyright
infringers like The Pirate Bay. This was something that didn�t sit well with Anons
all-around, since it went against the idea of freely sharing information.
3 Operation Avenge Assange
In November 2010, Anons extended Operation Payback to include Operation Avenge
Assange. After WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of leaked US diplomatic
cables, the US Government issued legal threats that prompted Visa, MasterCard and
PayPal to cut off service to WikiLeaks. This prompted Anonymous to issue a press
release in support of the organization, declaring PayPal a target. A series of
sites were brought down but the LOIC was not strong enough to take down the PayPal
site.