We Are Anonymous
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
In January 2012, the hacker collective Anonymous brought down the FBI website in response to planned American laws against internet piracy. In 2011, LulzSec, a sister organisation, broke into and blocked computer systems at VISA, Mastercard and PayPal. The groups have infiltrated the networks of totalitarian governments in Libya and Tunisia. They have attacked the CIA and NATO. But instead of being sanctimonious and secretive, these cyber activists are flippant and taunting, never hesitating to mock those they've outsmarted. Today, governments, big businesses and social activists are waking up to the true power of the internet, and how it can be manipulated.
This is the story of a hive mind, with many hackers across the globe connected to slice through security systems and escape untraced. Through the stories of four key members, We Are Anonymous offers a gripping, adrenalin-fuelled narrative drawing upon extensive research, and hundreds of conversations with the hackers themselves. By coming to know them - their backgrounds, families, motivations - we come to know the human side of their virtual exploits, showing exactly why they're so passionate about disrupting the internet's frontiers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this spellbinding account of mischief and mayhem, Olson (London bureau chief for Forbes magazine) traces the evolution of the nebulous movement that spawned Anonymous and LulzSec, the most notorious hacking groups of the 21st century. Anonymous burst onto the scene with its 2008 takedown of the Church of Scientology website and went on to stun authorities in 2010 with their attacks on Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard, in response to international crackdowns on Wikileaks. They would later target Middle Eastern governments, an IT security firm, Sony, and other high-profile entities. Delving into the labyrinthine chat channels, Olson's narrative depicts the range of people involved far from a group of organized criminal masterminds, Anonymous consists of a loose collection of individuals with various skill levels and motives. Some are merely looking for "Lulz" laughs at the expense of someone else while others are politically motivated "hacktivists" trying to incite revolution. With all the makings of a fast-paced espionage thriller, Olson basing her work on plenty of research and exclusive interviews with hackers, including Hector "Sabu" Monsegur meticulously and impartially recreates the operations of Anonymous and LulzSec, leading up to the arrests of core members, and their betrayal by one of their own. Includes timeline and glossary.
Customer Reviews
Thrilling Read
A fascinating read and insight into the black hat hacking and the Anonymous / LulzSec teams.
It does open ones eyes indeed, but personally I think they did a good job exposing massive and critical flaws in security holes in massive organisations.