Anonymous and LulzSec – who recently re-emerged after their 50-day campaign of hacking – has issued a statement addressed to the FBI and international law enforcement agencies, responding to an NPR article on the recent arrests of alleged members of the group.
On Tuesday, the FBI arrested 14 people suspecting to be part of the hacking group and participating in attacking PayPal after the company shut down the account belonging to Wikileaks.
In addition, the FBI could be arresting more people as agents executed 35 search warrants. Arrests could also extend to worldwide, investigating the case with several other law enforcement agencies.
Anonymous and LulzSec, both promoting the Anti-Sec movement, has taken issue with what FBI’s deputy head of its cyber division:
We want to send a message that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable [even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it’s entirely unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts.
The two groups have responded saying, while understanding his reasoning why they are unacceptable, the group finds it ethical compared to what they find unacceptable – including lobby groups who follow an “agenda to push the profits higher”, and corrupt governments and organisations.
“These governments and corporations are our enemy,” they said in a statement. “And we will continue to fight them, with all methods we have at our disposal, and that certainly includes breaking into their websites and exposing their lies.”
“We are not scared any more. Your threats to arrest us are meaningless to us as you cannot arrest an idea. Any attempt to do so will make your citizens more angry until they will roar in one gigantic choir. It is our mission to help these people and there is nothing – absolutely nothing – you can possibly to do make us stop,” it added.
The 50-day campaign of hacking by LulzSec has pushed the group in the eye of the US government, after hacking the FBI and CIA – the two important agencies in US law enforcement and intelligence gathering. And of course, you would expect the US are totally pissed off at LulzSec by hacking their computers and probably are tracking them down.
But while it addresses the statement from the FBI, it leaves me wondering and questioning their ethical line. Are users’ data the collateral damage in order to promote your cause and is that alright? Yes, some companies are bad. However, not everyone in that company is bad. And plus, really, you hacked PBS just because of a single documentary of Wikileaks? How does that fit in exposing corruption?
You can read their full statement below:
Hello thar FBI and international law authorities,
We recently stumbled across the following article with amazement and a certain amount of amusement:
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/20/138555799/fbi-arrests-alleged-anonymous-hackers
The statements made by deputy assistant FBI director Steve Chabinsky in this
article clearly seem to be directed at Anonymous and Lulz Security, and we are
happy to provide you with a response.You state:
“We want to send a message that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable,
[even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it’s entirely
unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts.”Now let us be clear here, Mr. Chabinsky, while we understand that you and
your colleagues may find breaking into websites unacceptable, let us tell
you what WE find unacceptable:* Governments lying to their citizens and inducing fear and terror to keep
them in control by dismantling their freedom piece by piece.* Corporations aiding and conspiring with said governments while taking
advantage at the same time by collecting billions of funds for
federal contracts we all know they can’t fulfil.* Lobby conglomerates who only follow their agenda to push the profits
higher, while at the same time being deeply involved in governments around
the world with the only goal to infiltrate and corrupt them enough
so the status quo will never change.These governments and corporations are our enemy. And we will continue to
fight them, with all methods we have at our disposal, and that certainly
includes breaking into their websites and exposing their lies.We are not scared any more. Your threats to arrest us are meaningless to
us as you cannot arrest an idea. Any attempt to do so will make your
citizens more angry until they will roar in one gigantic choir. It is our
mission to help these people and there is nothing – absolutely nothing – you
can possibly to do make us stop.“The Internet has become so important to so many people that we have to
ensure that the World Wide Web does not become the Wild Wild West.”Let me ask you, good sir, when was the Internet not the Wild Wild West? Do
you really believe you were in control of it at any point? You were not.That does not mean that everyone behaves like an outlaw. You see, most
people do not behave like bandits if they have no reason to. We become bandits
on the Internet because you have forced our hand. The Anonymous bitchslap rings
through your ears like hacktivism movements of the 90s. We’re back – and we’re
not going anywhere. Expect us.