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'''NOTE: This page is a horrible mess of cite notes from wikipedia, and only shows major events. Please fix this.'''

''Originally pulled from Wikipedia.''

'''Anonymous (group)''' is a group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. This is a timeline of activities carried out by the group.

==2006–07== ===Habbo raids=== A frequent target for organized raids by Anonymous is Habbo, a social networking site designed as a virtual hotel.<ref name=pool {{dead link}}/> The raid pre-dates, and was not inspired by, the news of an Alabama amusement park banning a two-year-old toddler affected by AIDS from entering the park's swimming pool.{{cite web|url=http://news.aol.com/story/_a/hiv-positive-toddler-banned-from-pool/20070708152909990001|title=HIV-Positive Toddler Banned From Pool|publisher=America Online}}{{dead link|date=May 2011}} Users signed up to the Habbo site dressed in avatars of a black man wearing a grey suit and an Afro hairstyle and blocked entry to the pool, declaring that it was "closed due to AIDS,"{{cite web |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Net_users_insist_its_joke.html |title=Net users insist 'racist' sign is joke |publisher=KENS-TV}} flooding the site with internet sayings, and forming swastika-like formations. When the raiders were banned, they complained of racism.{{cite web |title=Palin Hacker Group's All-Time Greatest Hits |author=Ryan Singel |date=September 19, 2008 |accessdate=September 21, 2009 |url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/palin-hacker-gr.html}}

===Hal Turner raid=== {{Main|Hal Turner}} According to white supremacist radio host Hal Turner, in December 2006 and January 2007 individuals who identified themselves as Anonymous took Turner's website offline, costing him thousands of dollars in bandwidth (computing) bills. As a result, Turner sued 4chan, eBaum's World, 7chan, and other websites for copyright infringement. He lost his plea for an injunction, however, and failed to receive letters from the court, which caused the lawsuit to lapse.{{cite web |url=http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-njdce/case_no-2:2007cv00306/case_id-198438/ |publisher=Justia |title=Harold C. "Hal" Turner v. 4chan.org |accessdate=July 27, 2007}}

===Chris Forcand arrest=== On December 7, 2007, the Canada-based ''Toronto Sun'' newspaper published a report on the arrest of the alleged Internet predator Chris Forcand. Forcand, 53, was charged with two counts of luring a child under the age of 14, attempt to invite sexual touching, attempted exposure, possessing a dangerous weapon, and carrying a concealed weapon.{{cite news |author=Constable George Schuurman, Public Information, for Detective Constable Janelle Blackadar, Sex Crimes Unit |title=Man facing six charges in Child Exploitation investigation, Photograph released, Chris Forcand, 53 |work=News Release |publisher=Toronto Police Service |date=December 6, 2007}} The report stated that Forcand was already being tracked by "cyber-vigilantes who seek to out anyone who presents with a sexual interest in children" before police investigations commenced.{{cite news |author=Jonathan Jenkins |title=Man trolled the web for girls: cops |url= http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2007/12/07/4712680-sun.html |work=Toronto Sun |date=December 7, 2007 |accessdate=February 19, 2008}}

A Global Television Network report identified the group responsible for Forcand's arrest as a "self-described Internet vigilante group called Anonymous" who contacted the police after some members were "propositioned" by Forcand with "disgusting photos of himself." The report also stated that this is the first time a suspected Internet predator was arrested by the police as a result of Internet vigilantism.{{cite news |author=[http://www.canada.com/globaltv/ontario/personalities/story.html?id=ff2d5236-9ff0-4ea7-b8ab-1123d851219b Gus Kim] (reporter) |title=Internet Justice? |work=Global Television Network |publisher=CanWest Global Communications |date=December 8, 2007}}

==2008==

===Project Chanology=== {{Main|Project Chanology}} File:Message to Scientology.ogv

The group gained worldwide press for Project Chanology, the protest against the Church of Scientology.{{cite news |last=Richards |first=Johnathan (''The Times'') |title=Hackers Declare War on Scientology: A shadowy Internet group has succeeded in taking down a Scientology Web site after effectively declaring war on the church and calling for it to be destroyed. |publisher=Fox News Network, LLC. |date=January 25, 2008 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325586,00.html |accessdate=January 25, 2008}}

On January 14, 2008, a video produced by the Church featuring an interview with Tom Cruise was leaked to the Internet and uploaded to YouTube.{{cite news |author=John Cook |title= Scientology – Cult Friction |url=http://radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2008/03/scientology_anonymous_protests_tom_cruise_01.php |work=[http://radaronline.com/ Radar Online] |publisher=Radar (magazine) |date=March 17, 2008 |accessdate=March 18, 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080323063402/http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2008/03/scientology_anonymous_protests_tom_cruise_01.php |archivedate=March 23, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Warne |first=Dan |title=Anonymous threatens to "dismantle" Church of Scientology via internet |work=APC Magazine |url=http://www.apcmag.com/7905/anonymous_threatens_to_dismantle_church_of_scientology_via_internet |publisher=National Nine News |date=January 24, 2008 |accessdate=January 25, 2008}}{{cite news |author=KNBC Staff |title=Hacker Group Declares War On Scientology: Group Upset Over Church's Handling Of Tom Cruise Video |work=KNBC |date=January 24, 2008 |url=http://www.knbc.com/news/15132759/detail.html |accessdate=January 25, 2008}} The Church of Scientology issued a copyright violation claim against YouTube requesting the removal of the video.{{cite news |last=Vamosi |first=Robert |title=Anonymous hackers take on the Church of Scientology |work=CNET News |publisher=CNET Networks, Inc. |date=January 24, 2008 |url=http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9857666-57.html |accessdate=January 25, 2008}} In response to this, Anonymous formulated Project Chanology.{{cite news |last=George-Cosh |first=David |title=Online group declares war on Scientology |work=National Post |location=Canada |publisher=CanWest Global Communications |date=January 25, 2008 |url=http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=261308 |accessdate=January 25, 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080128145858/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=261308 |archivedate=January 28, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Singel |first=Ryan |title=War Breaks Out Between Hackers and Scientology – There Can Be Only One |work=Wired (magazine) CondéNet, Inc. |date=January 23, 2008 |url=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/01/anonymous-attac.html |accessdate=January 25, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |title=Where to find the Tom Cruise Scientology videos online, if they're still posted |work=The Plain Dealer |publisher=Advance Publications |date=January 24, 2008 |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/120116724530070.xml&coll=2 |accessdate=January 25, 2008}}{{cite news |author=Chan Enterprises |title=Internet Group Declares "War on Scientology": Anonymous are fighting the Church of Scientology and the Religious Technology Center |work=Press Release |publisher=PRLog.Org |date= January 21, 2008 |url=http://www.prlog.org/10046797-internet-group-anonymous-declares-war-on-scientology.pdf |accessdate=January 25, 2008 |format=PDF}} Calling the action by the Church of Scientology a form of Internet censorship, members of Project Chanology organized a series of denial-of-service attacks against Scientology websites, prank calls, and black faxes to Scientology centers.{{cite news |author=Matthew A. Schroettnig, Stefanie Herrington, Lauren E. Trent |title=Anonymous Versus Scientology: Cyber Criminals or Vigilante Justice? |date=February 6, 2008 |url=http://www.thelegality.com/archives/22 |work=The Legality |accessdate=January 25, 2008}} Image:Anonymous Scientology 9 by David Shankbone.JPG.]]

On January 21, 2008, individuals claiming to speak for Anonymous announced their goals and intentions via a video posted to YouTube entitled "Message to Scientology," and a press release declaring a "War on Scientology" against both the Church of Scientology and the Religious Technology Center.{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Nicki |title=Scientology and the internet: Internet hackers attack the church |work=Edmonton Sun |publisher=Sun Media |date=January 25, 2008 |url=http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/01/25/4794425.html |accessdate=January 25, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{cite news |last=Dodd |first=Gareth (Ed.) |coauthor=Agencies |title=Anonymous hackers vow to "dismantle" Scientology |publisher=Xinhua News Agency |date=January 25, 2008 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/25/content_7495986.htm |accessdate=January 25, 2008}} In the press release, the group states that the attacks against the Church of Scientology will continue in order to protect the right to freedom of speech, and end what they believe to be the financial exploitation of church members.{{cite news |last=Brandon |first=Mikhail |title=Scientology in the Crosshairs |work=The Emory Wheel |publisher=Emory University |date=January 28, 2008 |url=http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=24945 |accessdate=January 31, 2008}} A new video "Call to Action" appeared on YouTube on January 28, 2008, calling for protests outside Church of Scientology centers on February 10, 2008.{{cite news |last=Feran |first=Tom |title=The group Anonymous calls for protests outside Scientology centers – New on the Net |work=The Plain Dealer |publisher=Advance Publications |date=January 31, 2008 |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1201771820310820.xml&coll=2 |accessdate=February 4, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Vamosi |first=Robert |title=Anonymous names February 10 as its day of action against Scientology |work=CNET News |publisher=CNET Networks, Inc. |date=January 28, 2008 |url=http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9859513-57.html |accessdate=January 28, 2008}} On February 2, 2008, 150 people gathered outside of a Church of Scientology center in Orlando, Florida to protest the organization's practices.{{cite news |last=Braiker |first=Brian |title=The Passion of 'Anonymous': A shadowy, loose-knit consortium of activists and hackers called 'Anonymous' is just the latest thorn in Scientology's side |work=Newsweek |at=Technology: Newsweek Web Exclusive |publisher=Newsweek, Inc. |date=February 8, 2008 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/109410 |accessdate=February 9, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Barkham |first=Patrick |title=Hackers declare war on Scientologists amid claims of heavy-handed Cruise control |work=The Guardian |location=UK |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |date=February 4, 2008 |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/04/news |accessdate=February 3, 2008 }}{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Group Lines Road To Protest Church Of Scientology |work=WKMG-TV |publisher=Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com |date=February 3, 2008 |url=http://www.local6.com/news/15205679/detail.html |accessdate=February 3, 2008}}{{cite news |last=Eckinger |first=Helen |coauthors=Gabrielle Finley, Katherine Norris |title=Anti-Scientology group has protest rally |work=Orlando Sentinel |date= February 3, 2008}} Small protests were also held in Santa Barbara, California,{{cite news |last=Standifer |first=Tom |title=Masked Demonstrators Protest Against Church of Scientology |work=Daily Nexus |at=Issue 69, Volume 88 |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |date=February 4, 2008 |url=http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=15686 |accessdate=February 4, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} and Manchester.{{cite news |last=Eber |first=Hailey |title=Anti-Scientologists Warm Up for February 10 |work=Radar (magazine) |publisher=Radar Magazine |date=February 4, 2008 |url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2008/02/antiscientologists-warming-up-for-february-10.php |accessdate=February 4, 2008}} On February 10, 2008, about 7000 people Template:Project Chanology protests, February 10, 2008.{{cite news |author=Carlos Moncada |title=Organizers Tout Scientology Protest, Plan Another |url=http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/12/organizers-tout-scientology-protest-plan-another/ |publisher=The Tampa Tribune |date=February 12, 2008 |accessdate=February 13, 2008}}{{cite news |author=Andrew Ramadge |title=Scientology protest surge crashes websites |url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23212002-5014239,00.html |work=News.com.au |date=February 14, 2008 |accessdate=February 14, 2008}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} Many protesters wore Guy Fawkes masks based on the character V (comics) from ''V for Vendetta'' (who, in turn, had been influenced by Guy Fawkes), or otherwise disguised their identities, in part to protect themselves from Fair Game (Scientology).{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=James (''The State News'') |title=Scientology protesters take action around world |date=February 12, 2008 |url=http://www.statenews.com/index.php/blog/entertainment/2008/02/internet_group_ |accessdate=February 14, 2008}}{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/02/11/dozens_of_masked_protesters_blast_scientology_church/ |title=Dozens of masked protesters blast Scientology church |first=John |last=Forrester |date=February 11, 2008 |accessdate=February 15, 2008 |work=The Boston Globe}}

Anonymous held a Template:Project Chanology protests, March 15, 2008 on March 15, 2008 in cities all over the world, including Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin, and Dublin. The global turnout was estimated to be "between 7000 and 8000," a number similar to that of the first wave.{{cite news |author=Andrew Ramadge |title=Second round of Anonymous v Scientology |url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23389091-5014239,00.html |work=News.com.au |date=March 17, 2008 |accessdate=March 17, 2008}} The third wave of the protests took place on April 12, 2008.{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Shaun |title=Scientology strikes back in information war |work=National Nine News |publisher=ninemsn |date=March 20, 2008 |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=409940 |accessdate=March 20, 2008}}{{cite news |author=Andrew Ramadge |title= Scientology site gets a facelift after protests |url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23407107-5014239,00.html |work=News.com.au |date=March 20, 2008 |accessdate=March 20, 2008}} Named "Operation Reconnect," it aimed to increase awareness of the Church of Scientology's disconnection.

On October 17, 2008, an 18-year-old from New Jersey described himself as a member of Anonymous, and he stated that he would plead guilty to involvement in the January 2008 DDoS attacks against Church of Scientology websites.{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Teenage hacker admits Scientology cyber-attack |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=October 17, 2008 |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5id8oJGeZ6UAxWY_Ql1ZNy5MTr2dQ |accessdate=October 18, 2008}}

Protests continued, and took advantage of media events such as the premiere of the Tom Cruise movie ''Valkyrie (film)'', where the venue was chosen in part to reduce exposure to the protests.{{cite web |title=Group bungles protest at 'Valkyrie' premiere |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28240738/ |date=December 15, 2008 |accessdate=December 16, 2008 |author=Courtney Hazlett |publisher=MSNBC}}

===Epilepsy Foundation forum invasion=== {{Main|Epilepsy Foundation#2008 forum invasion|l1=Epilepsy Foundation: 2008 forum invasion}} On March 28, 2008, ''Wired News'' reported that "Internet griefers"—a slang term for people whose only interests are in harassing others—assaulted an epilepsy support forum run by the Epilepsy Foundation.{{cite news |author=Kevin Poulsen |title=Hackers Assault Epilepsy Patients via Computer |url=http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2008/03/epilepsy |work=Wired News |date=March 28, 2008 |accessdate=April 1, 2008}} JavaScript code and flashing computer animations were posted with the intention of triggering migraine headaches and seizures in photosensitive epilepsy. According to ''Wired News'', circumstantial evidence suggested that the attack was perpetrated by Anonymous users, with the initial attack posts on the epilepsy forum blaming eBaum's World. Members of the epilepsy forum claimed they had found a thread in which the attack was being planned at 7chan.org, an imageboard that has been described as a stronghold for Anonymous. The thread, like all old threads eventually do on these types of imageboards, has since cycled to deletion.

''News.com.au'' reported that the administrators of 7chan.org had posted an open letter claiming that the attacks had been carried out by the Church of Scientology "to ruin the public opinion of Anonymous, to lessen the effect of the lawful protests against their virulent organization" under the Church's Fair Game (Scientology) policy.{{cite news |author=Andrew Ramadge |title=Anonymous attack targets epilepsy sufferers |url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23460969-5014239,00.html |work=News.com.au |date=April 1, 2008 |accessdate=April 1, 2008}}

===Defacement of SOHH and AllHipHop websites=== {{Main|SOHH#Defacement|l1=SOHH: Defacement}} Image:SOHH hacked.jpg In late June 2008, users who identified themselves as Anonymous claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against the SOHH (Support Online Hip Hop) website.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1590117/20080627/id_0.jhtml |title=Hip-Hop Sites Hacked By Apparent Hate Group; SOHH, AllHipHop Temporarily Suspend Access |accessdate=July 18, 2008 |last=Reid |first=Shaheem |date=June 30, 2008 |work=''MTV'' |quote= }} The attack was reported to have begun in retaliation for insults made by members of SOHH's "Just Bugging Out" forum against members of Anonymous. The attack against the website took place in stages, as Anonymous users flooded the SOHH forums, which were then shut down. On June 23, 2008, the group which identified themselves as Anonymous organized DDOS attacks against the website, successfully eliminating 60% of the website's service capacity. On June 27, 2008, the hackers utilized cross-site scripting to deface the website's main page with satirical images and headlines referencing numerous racial stereotypes and slurs, and also successfully stole information from SOHH employees.{{cite web |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92033455 |title=Hip Hop Sites Attacked by Hate Groups |accessdate=July 19, 2008 |last=Chideya |first=Farai |authorlink=Farai Chideya |date=June 30, 2008 |work=News & Notes |publisher=National Public Radio }} (Radio broadcast) Following the defacement, the website was temporarily shut down by its administration. AllHipHop, an unrelated website, also had its forum raided.

==2009==

===No Cussing Club=== In January 2009 members of Anonymous targeted California teen McKay Hatch who runs the No Cussing Club, a website against profanity.{{cite news |url=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jan/15/teenage-founder-of-no-cussing-club-under-siege/ |title=Teenage founder of No Cussing Club under siege |last=Rogers |first=John |date=January 15, 2009 |publisher=Ventura County Star, The Associated Press |accessdate=January 21, 2009 |quote=(...) a group calling itself Anonymous launched a viral No Cussing Sucks campaign across the Web.}}{{cite news |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=6665969&page=1 |title= {{-'}}No-Cussing' Club Attracts Followers – and Thousands of Hate Messages |last=Potter |first=Ned |date=January 16, 2009 |publisher=ABC News |accessdate=January 21, 2009}} As Hatch's home address (geography), phone number, and other personal information were leaked on the internet, his family has received hate mail, prank call, and bogus pizza delivery and pornography deliveries.{{cite news |url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/720115/no-cussing-teen-faces-net-hate-campaign |title={{-'}}No cussing' teen faces net hate campaign |last=Davies |first=Shaun |date=January 18, 2009 |publisher=Nine News |accessdate=January 20, 2009 |quote=Anonymous appears to be behind the attacks (...) Anonymous appears to be planning (...) [the earnestness of Hatch's campaign] may have drawn Anonymous's ire.}}

===2009 Iranian election protests=== Image:TBP The Persian Bay 20 June 09 front page.png, June 20, 2009. Anonymous, together with The Pirate Bay, launched an Iranian Green Movement Support site.{{cite web|url=http://iran.whyweprotest.net |title=Iran.whyweprotest.net |publisher=Iran.whyweprotest.net |date= |accessdate=2011-08-30}}]] {{Main|2009 Iranian election protests}} Following allegations of vote rigging after the results of the June 2009 Iranian presidential election were announced, declaring Iran's incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner, thousands of Iranians participated in 2009 Iranian election protests. Anonymous, together with The Pirate Bay and various Iranian hackers, launched an Iranian Green Movement Support site called Anonymous Iran. The site has drawn over 22,000 supporters world wide and allows for information exchange between the world and Iran, despite attempts by the Iranian government to Internet censorship in Iran. The site provides resources and support to Iranians who are protesting.Jack Hawke [http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/827036/internet-underground-takes-on-iran Internet underground takes on Iran] Thu Jun 18, 2009Iranian Support Site http://iran.whyweprotest.net

===Operation Didgeridie=== {{Main|Internet censorship in Australia}} In September 2009 the group reawakened "in order to protect civil rights" after several governments began to block access to its imageboards. The blacklisting of Krautchan.net in Germany infuriated many, but the tipping point was the Australian government's plans for ISP-level censorship of the internet. The policy was spearheaded by Stephen Conroy and had been driven aggressively{{cite news |first= Adam |last=Turner |url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/conroy-named-internet-villain-of-the-year-20090713-di8q.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |title=Conroy named Internet Villain of the Year |date=July 13, 2009}} by the Rudd Government since its election in 2007.

Early in the evening of September 9, Anonymous took down the prime minister's website with a distributed denial-of-service attack. The site was taken offline for approximately one hour.{{cite news |title=Rudd website attacked in filter protest |work=ABC News (Australia) |date=September 10, 2009 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/10/2681642.htm |accessdate=September 10, 2009}} On the morning of February 10, 2010, Anonymous launched a more prepared attack codenamed "Operation Titstorm." It defaced the prime minister's website, took down the Australian Parliament House website for three days and nearly managed to take down the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy' website.See:

==2010==

===Operation Titstorm=== {{Main|February 2010 Australian Cyberattacks}} {{external media | align = right | width = | video1 = [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEe7qhlFNs4 Message To The Australian Government From Anonymous],{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEe7qhlFNs4 |title=Message To The Australian Government From Anonymous |author="Anonymous |date=August 8, 2009 |publisher=YouTube}} directed at Kevin Rudd and Seven News hours before Operation Titstorm began. }} Occurred from 8 am, February 10, 2010 as a protest against the Australian Government over the forthcoming internet filtering legislation and the perceived censorship in pornography of small-breasted women (who are perceived to be under age) and female ejaculation. Hours earlier, Anonymous uploaded a video message to YouTube, addressed to Kevin Rudd, and Seven News, presenting a list of demands and threats of further action if they were not met.{{cite video | people = Lee Jeloscek (reporter), Simon Sheik (commentator) | date= September 10, 2009 | title= Internet Censorship War | medium = Television Broadcast | publisher=Seven News | location= Sydney, New South Wales}} The protest consisted of a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) on Australian Government websites. Australian anti-censorship groups complained that the attack only hurt their cause, and Australian government members dismissed the attack and said that they would just restore the service when the attack finished.{{cite news |author=Asher Moses |title=Operation Titstorm: hackers bring down government websites |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |date=February 10, 2010 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/operation-titstorm-hackers-bring-down-government-websites-20100210-nqku.html}}{{Cite document |title=Media Release – Attacks on government websites must be condemned |publisher=Stop Internet Censorship group |date=February 10, 2010 |url=http://www.stopinternetcensorship.org/207-media-release-attacks-on-government-websites-must-be-condemned.html}} Analysis of the attacks cited their peak bandwidth at under 17Mbit, a figure considered small when compared with other DDoS attacks.{{cite web |title=Aussie anti-censor attacks strafe gov websites: Operation Titstorm DDoS more of a bee sting |author=John Leyden |work=The Register |date= February 11, 2010 |url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/11/oz_anti_censorship_ddos_latest/}}

===Oregon Tea Party raid=== In July 2010, this was a reaction to the use of one of Anonymous' slogans by the Oregon Tea Party. The Party's Facebook page was flooded with image macro and flames. Within a few hours, the Tea Party posted a message saying "Anonymous: We appreciate your resources and admire your tactics. You have taught us more than you know. As requested, we are no longer using the 'anonymous' quote." Following this raid, the Party's Facebook page was removed, and its Ning page limited to member-only access.{{cite web|last=Chalk|first=Andy|title=Anonymous Punishes the Oregon Tea Party|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102426-Anonymous-Punishes-the-Oregon-Tea-Party|work=[[The Escapist (magazine)]] |publisher=Themis Group|accessdate=7 August 2011}}

===Operations Payback, Avenge Assange, and Bradical=== File:You call it piracy.jpgs and press releases to the public domain.]] {{Main|Operation Payback}} In 2010, several Bollywood companies hired Aiplex Software to launch DDoS attacks on websites that did not respond to software takedown notices.{{cite news |title=4chan launches DDoS against entertainment industry |first=John |last=Leyden |newspaper=The Register |date=September 22, 2010 |url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/20/4chan_ddos_mpaa_riaa/ |accessdate=October 22, 2010}} Piracy activists then created Operation Payback in September 2010 in retaliation. The original plan was to attack Aiplex Software directly, but upon finding some hours before the planned DDoS that another individual had taken down the firm's website on their own, Operation Payback moved to launching attacks against the websites of copyright stringent organizations, law firms and other websites.{{cite news |title=4chan Users Organize Surgical Strike Against MPAA |newspaper=Pandalabs Security |first=Sean-Paul |last=Correll |date=September 17, 2010 |url= http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/4chan-users-organize-ddos-against-mpaa/ |accessdate=October 22, 2010}} This grew into multiple DDoS attacks against anti-piracy groups and law firms.

On April 2, 2011 Anonymous launched an attack on the media giant Sony, named #opsony, as a part of Operation Payback.{{cite web|last=Dunn |first=John E |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/224360/anonymous_launches_attack_against_sony_ps3_websites.html |title=Anonymous Launches Attack Against Sony PS3 Websites |publisher=PCWorld |date=2011-04-05 |accessdate=2011-08-30}} Anonymous claims the attack a success after they took down the PlayStation Network and other related PlayStation Websites. Anonymous' actions also included personal harassment of employees and their families. The PlayStation Network subsequently has had lengthy outages, although Anonymous claims that this is not due to any officially-sanctioned action on their part, but may be due to sub-groups of Anonymous.{{cite web|url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/04/anonymous-goes-after-sony-makes-it-personal-very-personal.ars|title=Anonymous goes after Sony, makes it personal... very personal|author=Nate Anderson|publisher=ars technica}}

Sony Corp. came to Anonymous' attention after it took legal action against George Hotz (a.k.a. GeoHot), the coder behind a popular tool that allows homebrew software to run on the PlayStation 3 (PS3). In addition, Sony is also taking legal action against Alexander Egorenkov (a.ka. Graf_Chokolo) for his efforts to restore Linux to the PS3. The reason why Hotz and Egorenkov did that follows on from Sony's decision to remove the system's OtherOS feature, which enabled the use of Linux. While the pair has earned respect for their research and technical skills, they have also gained the attention of Sony's legal team. With a lawsuit now against Hotz this attracted the attention of Anonymous. They claim that Sony is breaching the free speech border, and this is the reason for their actions.{{cite web|url=http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201114/7017/Anonymous-Operation-Sony-is-a-double-edged-sword|title=Anonymous' Operation: Sony is a double-edged sword|author=Steve Ragan|publisher=Tech Herald}}

In December 2010, the document archive website WikiLeaks (used by whistleblowers) came under intense pressure to stop publishing United States diplomatic cables leak. In response, Anonymous announced its support for WikiLeaks,{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/world/europe/06wiki.html?hp |title=Hundreds of WikiLeaks Mirror Sites Appear |accessdate=December 6, 2010}}[https://uloadr.com/u/4.png Uploadr.com]{{dead link|date=August 2011}} and Operation Payback changed its focus to support WikiLeaks and launched DDoS attacks against Amazon.com, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa Inc. and the Swiss bank PostFinance, in retaliation for perceived anti-WikiLeaks behavior. This second front in the December offensive was performed under the codename Operation Avenge Assange.{{cite web|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1331793 |title=Un grupo de hackers lanzó la "operación venganza" a favor del creador de WikiLeaks |publisher=lanacion.com |accessdate=December 15, 2010}}{{cite web|author=Posted on 12/6/10 by Sean-Paul Correll |url=http://pandalabs.pandasecurity.com/operationpayback-broadens-to-operation-avenge-assange/ |title=Operation:Payback broadens to "Operation Avenge Assange" | PandaLabs Blog |publisher=Pandalabs.pandasecurity.com |date=December 6, 2010 |accessdate=December 15, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/hackers-website-bank-froze-wikileaks-funds/ |title=Hackers take down website of bank that froze WikiLeaks funds |accessdate=December 7, 2010}}{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-live-updates |title=WikiLeaks US embassy cables: live updates |accessdate=December 7, 2010 | location=London |work=The Guardian |first1=Matthew |last1=Weaver |first2=Richard |last2=Adams |date=December 7, 2010}}{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/#!/Anon_Operation/status/11858732887572480 |title=Paypal.com is down! And yes we are firing now!!! Keep firing! |accessdate=December 7, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/PayPal-PostFinance-Hit-by-DoS-Attacks-CounterAttack-in-Progress-860335/ |title=PayPal, PostFinance Hit by DoS Attacks, Counter-Attack in Progress |accessdate=December 7, 2010}} Due to the attacks, both MasterCard and Visa's websites were brought down on December 8.Associated Press (December 8, 2010) [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703493504576007182352309942.html Hackers Strike Back to Support WikiLeaks] Wall Street Journal{{cite news|last=Adams |first=Richard |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-live-updates |title=The Guardian |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=December 8, 2010 |accessdate=December 15, 2010 }} A threat researcher at PandaLabs said Anonymous also launched an attack which brought down the Swedish prosecutor's website when WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London and refused bail in relation to extradition to Sweden.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/assange-wanted-by-us-for-espionage-offences-20101208-18ouj.html/ |title= Assange wanted by US for 'espionage offences{{'-}} |accessdate=December 8, 2010 | location=Melbourne |work=The Age |first=Asher |last=Moses |date=December 8, 2010}}

After suspected leaker Bradley Manning was transferred to Marine Corps Brig, Quantico in July 2010, allegations of abuse arose around Manning's isolation in a maximum security area, and the suicide-watch he was put under which included constant verbal checks by guards and forced nudity.Nakashima, Ellen. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/05/AR2011030503624.html "In brig, WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning ordered to sleep without clothing"], ''The Washington Post'', March 5, 2011.Nakashima, Ellen. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03 /11/AR2011031106542.html "WikiLeaks suspect's treatment 'stupid,' U.S. official says"], ''The Washington Post'', March 12, 2011.[http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2010/12/typical-day-for-pfc-bradley-manning.html "A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning"], The Law Offices of David Edward Coombs, December 18, 2010, accessed March 7, 2011.Gallagher, Roy. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/mar/04/bradley-manning-us-wikileaks-hypocrisy "Bradley Manning and the stench of US hypocrisy"], ''The Guardian'', March 4, 2011.Kupers, Terry (March 16, 2011) [http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/16/kupers.bradley.manning.prison/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn Cruel and unusual treatment of WikiLeaks suspect], CNN Military officials denied the treatment was abuse or abnormal. In an event that lead to his resignation, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley made statements condemning the treatment.Shane, Scott. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/14manning.html?nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=tha22&adxnnlx=1295010092-yBCY6cWeipHMDcco+8RRrA "Accused Soldier in Brig as WikiLeaks Link is Sought"], ''The New York Times'', January 13, 2011.Tapper, Jake and Radia, Kirit. [http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/03/state-department-spokesman-pj-crowley-resigned-bradley-manning.html "Comments on Prisoner Treatment Cause State Department Spokesman to Lose His Job"], ABC News, March 13, 2011. In response to Manning's imprisonment and treatment, Anonymous threatened to disrupt activities at Quantico by cyber-attacking communications, exposing private information about personnel, and other harassment methods.{{cite news|url=http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2011/03/07/anonymous-hackers-target-alleged-wikileaker-bradley-mannings-jailers/|title=Anonymous Hackers Target Alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning's Jailers|last=Andy|first=Greenberg|date=March 7, 2011|work=Forbes|accessdate=March 17, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201109/6905/Anonymous-plans-defense-for-Bradley-Manning-promises-a-media-war?page=1|title=Anonymous plans defense for Bradley Manning – promises a media war|last=Ragan|first=Steve|date=March 4, 2011|publisher=Monsters and Critics|accessdate=March 17, 2011}} Dubbed "Operation Bradical",{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2011/03/07/anonymous-launches-operation-bradical/|title=Anonymous Launches ‘Operation Bradical'|last=Tuutti|first=Camille|date=March 7, 2011|publisher=The New New Internet|accessdate=March 17, 2011}} Spokesperson Barrett Brown stated that this would be in direct response for the alleged mistreatment.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/121434/20110310/wikileaks-bradley-manning-anonymous-threats.htm|title=Anonymous Threatens To Post Info On Bradley Manning's Guards|last=Emspak|first=Jesse|date=March 10, 2011|publisher=International Business Times|accessdate=March 17, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.newser.com/story/113689/anonymous-threatens-cyberwar-over-militarys-treatment-of-bradley-manning.html|title=Anonymous to Hit Quantico Over Manning Treatment|last=Quinn|first=Rob|date=March 9, 2011|publisher=Newser|accessdate=March 17, 2011}} Military spokespersons have responded that the threat has been referred to law enforcement and counterterrorism officials and requested an investigation.{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gt8mSjhQ8IOKf7PNWsQavmpZLC2A?docId=CNG.08dc880232fd4c049d2f1a10f4641409.a71|title=US probes hacker threat over WikiLeaks soldier|date=Mar 8, 2011|agency=Agence France-Presse |publisher=Google News|accessdate=March 17, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2011/03/09/pentagon-investigates-anonymous-threat-against-quantico/|title=Pentagon Investigates ‘Anonymous' Threat against Quantico|last=Tuutti|first=Camille|date=March 9, 2011|publisher=The New New Internet|accessdate=March 17, 2011}}

===Operation Leakspin=== {{Main|Operation Leakspin}} Operation Leakspin was conceived by the Anonymous group, with the purpose of sorting through recent WikiLeaks releases and raise awareness of potentially important and previously overlooked cables.

===Zimbabwe=== The websites of the government of Zimbabwe were targeted by Anonymous due to censorship of the WikiLeaks documents.{{cite news|title=Anonymous activists target Tunisian government sites|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12110892|newspaper=BBC |date=January 7, 2011|accessdate=December 12, 2010}}

==2011== File:Occupy Wall Street Anonymous 2011 Shankbone.JPG, a protest that the group actively supported, September 17, 2011]] ===Attack on Fine Gael website=== The website for the Irish political party Fine Gael, a centre right party and currently in coalition government with the Labour Party (Ireland), was hacked by Anonymous during the Irish general election, 2011 according to TheJournal.ie.{{cite web |url= http://www.thejournal.ie/fine-gael-website-defaced-by-anonymous-hacktivists-2011-01/ |title= Fine Gael website defaced by Anonymous ‘hacktivists’ |author=Gavan Reilly |date= January 9, 2010 |work=TheJounral.ie |accessdate=January 9, 2011}} The site was replaced with a page showing the Anonymous logo along with the words "Nothing is safe, you put your faith in this political party and they take no measures to protect you. They offer you free speech yet they censor your voice. WAKE UP! ".

===Arab Spring Activities=== {{main|Operation Egypt |Operation Tunisia}} The websites of the government of Tunisia were targeted by Anonymous due to censorship of the WikiLeaks documents and the Tunisian Revolution.{{cite news|title=Anonymous activists target Tunisian government sites|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12110892|newspaper=BBC |date=January 4, 2011|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} Tunisians were reported to be assisting in these denial-of-service attacks launched by Anonymous.{{cite news|title=Hackers hit Tunisian websites|author=Evan Hill|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/201113111059792596.html|newspaper=ALJAZEERA|date=Jan 3, 2011|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} Anonymous's role in the DDoS attacks on the Tunisian government's websites have led to an upsurge of internet activism among Tunisians against the government.{{cite news|title=Violent clashes continue in Tunisia|author=Bilal Randeree|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/201114101752467578.html|newspaper=ALJAZEERA|date=Jan 4, 2011|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} A figure associated with Anonymous released an online message denouncing the government clampdown on recent protests and posted it on the Tunisian government website.{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/SL92U.png |title=Screenshot of the message |date= |accessdate=2011-08-30}} Anonymous has named their attacks as "Operation Tunisia".{{cite news|title=Timeline: Tunisia's civil unrest|author=Ryan Rifai|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/tunisia/2011/01/201114142223827361.html|newspaper=ALJAZEERA|date=Jan 4, 2011|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} Anonymous successfully performed Denial-of-service attack on eight Tunisian government websites. The Tunisian government responded by making its websites inaccessible from outside Tunisia. Tunisian police also arrested online activists and bloggers within the country and questioned them on the attacks. Anonymous's website suffered a DDoS attack on January 5.{{cite news|title=Tunisia's bitter cyberwar|author=Yasmine Ryan|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html|newspaper=ALJAZEERA|date=Jan 6, 2011|accessdate=January 7, 2011}}

During the 2011 Egyptian revolution, Egyptian government websites, along with the website of the ruling National Democratic Party (Egypt), were hacked into and taken offline by Anonymous. The sites remained offline until President Hosni Mubarak stepped down.{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03hackers.html?_r=1 |title= Hackers Shut Down Government Sites |author=Ravi Somaiya |date= February 3, 2011 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=February 3, 2011}}

Anonymous was divided on the 2011 Libyan civil war, while they hacked into Libyan government websites, and persuaded the host of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's personal website to take it down, other members of the group sided with the dictator in what they called "Operation Reasonable Reaction".http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc172/Lizzy-Bear69/--Graphics%20Everyday--/Myspace%20Graphics/Poem.jpg The pro-Gaddafi attacks were fairly unsuccessful, only managing to take down minor opposition sites for a little while.http://partyvan.info/wiki/Operation_Reasonable_Reaction

Anonymous also released the names and passwords of the email addresses of Middle Eastern governmental officials, in support of the Arab Spring.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/yemen-libya-jun-5-2011-2247 |title=Yemen, Libya - Jun 5, 2011 - 22:47 | Al Jazeera Blogs |publisher=Blogs.aljazeera.net |date=2011-06-05 |accessdate=2011-08-30}} Countries targeted included officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco.[http://pastebin.com/n98jDJMq ]{{dead link|date=August 2011}}

===Attack on HBGary Federal=== {{see also|HBGary#Wikileaks, Bank of America, Hunton & Williams, and Anonymous|l1=Wikileaks, Bank of America, Hunton & Williams, and Anonymous}} {|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:25em; max-width: 25%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|One man, who calls himself Owen, says his Anonymous colleagues broke into the company's servers. Hackers have a name for what they did. "They decided to just rape his servers and take all the information they wanted," he says. "Forgive that term ... 'Rape' is an Internet term, you know, as to go in and take everything out of somebody's server." Whatever the term, it was not a nice thing that Anonymous did to HBGary Federal. But now that the company's e-mails are out, it appears it was also willing to do some not-nice things. |- |style="text-align: left;"|—''E-Mails Hacked By 'Anonymous' Raise Concerns'', NPR{{cite web|title=E-Mails Hacked By 'Anonymous' Raise Concerns|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/02/16/133811429/e-mails-hacked-by-anonymous-raise-concerns|first=Kaste|last=Martin |date=February 16, 2011|accessdate=February 17, 2011|publisher=NPR}} |}

On the weekend of February 5–6, 2011, Aaron Barr, the chief executive of the security firm HBGary Federal, announced that his firm had successfully infiltrated the Anonymous group, and although he would not hand over details to the police, he would reveal his findings at a later conference in San Francisco. In retaliation for Aaron Barr's claims, members of the group Anonymous hacked the website of HBGary Federal and replaced the welcome page with a message stating that Anonymous should not be messed with, and that the hacking of the website was necessary to defend itself. Using a variety of techniques, including social engineering (security) and SQL injection,{{cite web|last=Bright |first=Peter |url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/anonymous-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-hbgary-hack.ars/ |title=Anonymous speaks: the inside story of the HBGary hack |publisher=Arstechnica.com |date=February 15, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}} Anonymous also went on to take control of the company's e-mail, dumping 68,000 e-mails from the system, erasing files, and taking down their phone system.{{cite web|last=Anderson |first=Nate |url=http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/how-one-security-firm-tracked-anonymousand-paid-a-heavy-price.ars/ |title=How one man tracked down Anonymous—and paid a heavy price |publisher=Arstechnica.com |date=February 9, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}} The leaked emails revealed the reports and company presentations of other companies in computer security such as Endgame systems who promise high quality offensive software, advertising "subscriptions of $2,500,000 per year for access to Zero-day exploit".{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113981026464808.html|title= Lessons from Anonymous on cyberwar |author=Haroon Meer|date= March 11, 2011 |publisher=Al Jazeera English}}

Among the documents exposed was a PowerPoint presentation entitled "The Wikileaks Threat", put together by HBGary Federal along with two other data intelligence firms for Bank of America in December.{{cite web| last=Lundin|first=Leigh| title=WikiLicks|url=http://criminalbrief.com/?p=15747| work=Crime| publisher=Criminal Brief |location=Orlando |date=February 20, 2011 |quote=CEO Aaron Barr thought he'd uncovered the hackers' identities and like rats, they'd scurry for cover. If he could nail them, he could cover up the crimes H&W, HBGary, and BoA planned, bring down WikiLeaks, decapitate Anonymous, and place his opponents in prison while collecting a cool fee. He thought he was 88% right; he was 88% wrong.}} Within the report, these firms created a list of important contributors to WikiLeaks; they further developed a strategic plan of attack against the site. As TechHerald explains, "the plan included pressing a journalist in order to disrupt his support of the organization, cyber attacks, disinformation, and other potential proactive tactics." The report specifically claims that Glenn Greenwald's support was key to WikiLeaks' ongoing survival.{{cite web|author=James Wray and Ulf Stabe |url=http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201106/6798/Data-intelligence-firms-proposed-a-systematic-attack-against-WikiLeaks |title=Data intelligence firms proposed a systematic attack against WikiLeaks – Security |publisher=Thetechherald.com |date=February 9, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Egnor |first=Bill |url=http://firedoglake.com/tag/hb-gary-federal/ |title=HB Gary Federal |publisher=Firedoglake |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://crowdleaks.org/anonymous-retaliates-against-hbgary-espionage/ |title=Anonymous retaliates against HBGary espionage |publisher=Crowdleaks |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}

Anonymous also personally attacked Aaron Barr by taking control of his Twitter account, posting Mr Barr's supposed home address and social security number.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/hacktivists-take-control-of-internet-security-firms-2207440.html |title=Hacktivists take control of internet security firms – Online, Media |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=February 8, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011 |first=Jerome |last=Taylor}}

In response to the attacks, founder of HBGary Federal, Greg Hoglund, responded to journalist Brian Krebs, "They didn't just pick on any company, we try to protect the US Government from hackers. They couldn't have chosen a worse company to pick on." After the attacks, Anonymous continued to clog up HBGary Federal fax machines, and made threatening phone calls.{{cite news|title=Anonymous vows to take leaking to the next level|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/02/23/wikileaks.anonymous/|first=Ashley|last=Fantz|date=February 23, 2011<!- – 5:45 p.m.-->|accessdate=February 23, 2011|publisher=CNN}}

===Purported threat against the Westboro Baptist Church=== File:WestboroBC Bring it on.png On February 16, 2011, the group supposedlyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12535456 wrote an open letter to the Westboro Baptist Church, stating: "''Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011 ... close your public Web sites. Should you ignore this warning ... the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover.''"{{cite web|url=http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=449 |title=Everything Anonymous |publisher=AnonNews.org |date=2011-02-16 |accessdate=2011-08-30}}{{cite news|title=Hackers warn Westboro Church: Stop now or else|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20033942-501465.html|date=February 19, 2011 |accessdate=February 21, 2011|publisher=CBS News}}{{cite web|title=Anonymous warns Westboro Baptist Church to stop with the hate|url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2011/02/20/anonymous_warns_westboro_baptist_church/index.html|first=Finocchiaro|last=Peter |date=Sunday, Feb 20, 2011 13:12 ET |accessdate=February 21, 2011|format=Salon}} On February 19, 2011, the church responded, telling Anonymous to "bring it on" and calling them, among other things, "a puddle of pimple-faced nerds."http://i.imgur.com/nh1kR.png{{cite news|title=Westboro Baptist Church targeted by Anonymous|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12523184|date=February 21, 2011 Last updated at 08:51 ET |publisher=BBC |accessdate=February 21, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Westboro Baptist Church taunts Anonymous over supposed attack plan God hates fags and 'crybaby' hackers|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/21/wbc_versus_anon/|first=Leyden|last=John |date=February 21, 2011<!- – 11:30 GMT-->|accessdate=February 21, 2011}} Anonymous subsequently denied the authenticity of the threat, suggesting that someone from outside Anonymous had made the posting.{{cite web|url=http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=494 |title=Message to the Westboro Baptist Church, the Media, and Anonymous as a whole |publisher=Anonnews.org |date= |accessdate=2011-08-30}}{{cite web|title=God hates hackers, says Westboro pastor |url=http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/54228-god-hates-hackers-says-westboro-pastor|first=Woollacott |last=Emma |date=February 21, 2011|accessdate=February 21, 2011|publisher=TG Daily}} Due to their website being openly editable by anyone, it is unknown who made the post at this time. Anonymous responded with a press release calling the Westboro Church "professional trolls" stating that they believe that it was a member of the Westboro Church making an attempt to provoke an attack, thus acting as a honeypot (computing) which would both allow the church to retaliate against Internet service providers in court, and to gain it further publicity.{{cite web|url=http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=492 |title=Everything Anonymous |publisher=AnonNews.org |date= |accessdate=2011-08-30}} They also claimed that they had more pressing matters to attend to, namely the support of the protests that led to the 2011 Libyan civil war.{{cite web|author=Laura O'Brien |url=http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/20514-hacktivists-deny-attack/ |title=‘We’re not attacking Westboro Baptist Church’ – Anonymous – New Media – New Media | siliconrepublic.com – Ireland's Technology News Service |publisher=siliconrepublic.com |date=February 21, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}} That said, Anonymous later suggested tactics for those who wished to attack Westboro nevertheless, avoiding DDoS in favor of sending "prostitutes, preferably male," and in general to "rape their asses in the most unpredictable ways possible." {| class="toccolours" style="float:left; margin-left:1em; margin-right:2em; font-size:85%; background:skyBlue; color:black; width:25em; max-width:25%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"Our best guess is that you heard about us on that newfangled TV of yours and thought we might be some good money for your little church." |- |style="text-align: left;"|—Anonymous response to the Westboro issue |} Anonymous also indicated that an attack would be self-defeating, stating: "When Anonymous says we support free speech, we mean it. We count Evelyn Beatrice Hall among our Anonymous forebears: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'"{{cite web|title=Westboro Baptists Stage Fake Anonymous Threat|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107893-Westboro-Baptists-Stage-Fake-Anonymous-Threat|first=Tom|last=Goldman|date=Feb 21, 2011<!- – 11:16 am-->|accessdate=February 21, 2011|publisher=The Escapist}} Nonetheless, Westboro's website at God Hates Fags#Views on homosexuality suffered an attack.{{cite news|title=Anonymous: Defending freedom of speech one blocked website at a time.: The self styled 'super-consciousness' of Anonymous has turned on Westboro Baptist church. Are they going too far?|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2011/feb/20/1|first=Martin|last=Robbins|date=February 20, 2011 |accessdate=February 21, 2011|work=Guardian |location=UK}}{{cite web|title=Anonymous hits Westboro Baptist Church websites after online verbal trade-off|url=http://www.scmagazineuk.com/anonymous-hits-westboro-baptist-church-websites-after-online-verbal-trade-off/article/196699/|first=Dan|last=Raywood|date=February 21, 2011|accessdate=February 21, 2011|publisher=SC Magazine}}{{cite web|title=Performance Charts and Statistics for www.godhatesfags.com|url=http://uptime.netcraft.com/perf/graph?collector=all&site=www.godhatesfags.com|accessdate=February 21, 2011}} Another hacktivist by the name of The Jester (hacktivist) claimed to bring the websites from the Westboro Baptist Church on his Twitter account.{{cite news|title=Jester claims credit for knocking Westboro Baptist Church offline.: Tango down, he tweets|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/24/jester_westboro_baptists_anon_silliness/|first=John|last=Leyden|date=February 24, 2011 |accessdate=May 7, 2011|publisher=Register}}{{cite news|title=Watch ‘Anonymous’ Hack the Westboro Baptist Church Live During a Debate|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/02/anonymous_hacks_westboro_bapti.html|first=Dan|last=Amira|date=February 24, 2011 |accessdate=May 7, 2011|publisher=New York Magazine|location=New York}}{{cite news|title=The Jester claims responsibility for taking down Westboro Baptist Church website, as Anonymous refuses to back down|url=http://www.scmagazineuk.com/the-jester-claims-responsibility-for-taking-down-westboro-baptist-church-website-as-anonymous-refuses-to-back-down/article/197046/|first=Dan|last=Raywood|date=February 25, 2011 |accessdate=May 7, 2011|publisher=SC Magazine}} Nonetheless, people are still unsure who actually attacked the Westboro Baptist Church. In a forum in 4chan, several members revealed their confusion and wondered about The Jester (hacktivist)'s motives.

===2011 Wisconsin protests=== {{see also|2011 Wisconsin budget protests}} On February 27, 2011, Anonymous announced a new attack on Koch Industries{{cite web|url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/49513260/OpWisconsin |title=OpWisconsin |publisher=Scribd.com |date=February 25, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}} as a response to the 2011 Wisconsin budget protests. Between 1997 and 2008, David H. Koch and Charles Koch collectively gave more than $17 million to groups, such as Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United, lobbying against unions.{{cite web|author=Radley Balko |url=http://reason.com/blog/2011/02/25/the-koch-brothers-right-wing-c |title=The Koch Brothers' Right-Wing Conspiracy to Undermine the PATRIOT Act - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine |publisher=Reason.com |date=2011-02-25 |accessdate=2011-08-30|unused_data=February 25, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/02/25/134040226/in-wis-union-battle-focus-on-billionaire-brothers |title=Wisconsin Union Battle Puts Billionaire Koch Brothers In Spotlight |publisher=NPR |date=February 25, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}} The Kochs are one of (Republican) Governor Walker's Political activities of the Koch family#Anti-union activity.https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/us/22koch.html?_r=1 Anonymous accused the brothers of attempting "to usurp American Democracy" and called for a boycott of all Koch Industries products.{{cite web|last=Webster |first=Stephen C. |url=http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/27/anonymous-targets-the-brothers-koch-claiming-attempts-to-usurp-american-democracy/ |title='Anonymous' targets the brothers Koch, claiming attempts 'to usurp American Democracy' |publisher=The Raw Story |date=February 27, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/anonymous-joins-madison-protests-takes-down-koch-bros-website/ |title=Anonymous Joins Madison Protests, Takes Down Koch Bros Website |publisher=Care2.com |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}

===2011 Bank of America document release=== On March 14, 2011, the group Anonymous began releasing emails it said were obtained from Bank of America. According to the group, the files show evidence of "corruption and fraud", and relate to the issue of improper foreclosures. They say that a former employee from Balboa Insurance, a firm which used to be owned by BofA.{{cite news|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCATRE72C3QA20110314 |title=Hacker group plans BofA e-mail release Monday | Technology | Reuters |publisher=Ca.reuters.com |date=March 13, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Rothackerrrothacker |first=Rick |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/14/2139763/bofa-might-face-another-leak-threat.html |title=BofA might face another leak threat |publisher=CharlotteObserver.com |date=March 14, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Davidson |first=Helen |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/hacker-group-anonymous-says-it-will-release-bank-of-america-emails/story-e6frf7jx-1226020941770 |title=Hacker group Anonymous says it will release Bank of America emails |publisher=Herald Sun |date=March 14, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite web|author=Katya Wachtel |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/anonymous-hackers-bank-of-america-wikileaks-emails-documents-2011-3 |title=Anonymous Hackers Release Trove Of Emails That Allegedly Show Bank Of America Committed Mortgage Fraud |publisher=Businessinsider.com |date=March 14, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/corruption-fraud-hackers-plan-to-out-bank-of-america-20110314-1btpk.html |title=Hackers plan to out Bank of America |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=March 14, 2011 |accessdate=March 29, 2011}}

===Operation Sony=== {{See also|Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz}}

Anonymous [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpfK7ADqL1Q announced] their intent to attack Sony websites in response to Sony's lawsuit against George Hotz and, specifically due to Sony's gaining access to the IP addresses of all the people who visited George Hotz's blog as part of the libel action, terming it an 'offensive against free speech and internet freedom'{{cite web |url=http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/05/6413487-hacker-group-targets-sony-executives-children?chromedomain=technolog|title=Hacker group targets sony executives -children}}{{cite news |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1373621/Anonymous-hackers-hit-Playstation-Sony-websites-revenge-lawsuit.html?ito=feeds-newsxml|title=Anonymous hackers hit Playstation-Sony websites in revenge lawsuit | location=London | work=Daily Mail |date=April 6, 2011}} Although Anonymous admitted responsibility to subsequent attacks on the Sony websites, Anonymous branch AnonOps denied that they were the cause behind a major PlayStation Network outage of the Playstation Network in April 2011. However, as Anonymous is a leaderless organization, the possibility remains that another branch of the group is responsible for the outage.{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/blog/16795694.html|title=Did Anonymous Hack Sony's PlayStation Network?}}{{cite web |url=http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/22/as-playstation-network-outage-continues-hackers-deny-involvement/|title=Hackers deny involvement in PlayStation Network outage}}

===Spanish Police=== On June 12, 2011, there was a DDoS attack on the website of the Spanish Police, starting at 21:30 GMT. Anonymous claimed responsibility the following day, stating that the attack was a "direct response to the Friday arrests of three individuals alleged to be associated with acts of cyber civil disobedience attributed to Anonymous." The site was down for approximately an hour as a result of their efforts.{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13749181|title=BBC- Spanish police website hit by Anonymous hackers | work=BBC News | date=June 13, 2011}}

===Supporting 2011 Indian Anti-corruption movement in cyber space=== The group has come out in support of a civil movement against corruption in India. This cyber movement has been named as 'Operation India'.{{cite news|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/hackers-join-ramdevs-campaign-110924|title=Hackers join Ramdev's campaign|date=June 8, 2011|publisher=NDTV |language=English|accessdate=June 8, 2011|location=New Delhi}}[http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/anonymous_announces_operation_india.php Anonymous Announces Operation India], Curt Hopkins, June 7, 2011, 1:15 pm, readwriteweb.com

===Operation Malaysia=== On June 15, 2011, the group launched attacks on ninety-one websites of the Malaysian government in response to the blocking of websites like Wikileaks and The Pirate Bay within the country, which the group labels censorship of a basic human right to information.{{cite news|last=Albanesius|first=Chloe|title=Hackers Target Malaysian Government Sites|url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387108,00.asp|accessdate=June 16, 2011|newspaper=PC Magazine|agency=Ziff Davis}}

===Operation Orlando=== On June 20, 2011, members of the group took down the websites of the Orlando, Florida Chamber of Commerce and inserted a message into the website of the Universal Orlando Resort requesting that users "boycott Orlando". The group did so in response to the arrests of members of Food Not Bombs for feeding the homeless in Lake Eola Park against city ordinances.{{cite news|last=Damron|first=David|title=Hackers crash web sites to protest Orlando's homeless feeding restrictions|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-hackers-attack-sites-for-homeless-20110620,0,7225913.story|accessdate=June 21, 2011|newspaper=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|date=June 20, 2011|agency=Tribune Company|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5zb2JybnE|archivedate=June 20, 2011|location=Fort Lauderdale, Florida}} The group had planned and announced the attack on their IRC channel.{{cite news|last=Mack|first=Eric|title=Anonymous Plans Attack on City of Orlando Website, IRC Chatter Suggests|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/230432/anonymous_plans_attack_on_city_of_orlando_website_irc_chatter_suggests.html|accessdate=June 21, 2011|newspaper=PC World (magazine)|date=June 16, 2011|agency=IDG|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5zb2cJRKl|archivedate=June 20, 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13952864 |title=BBC News - Hacker group Anonymous declares war on Orlando, Florida |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-06-28 |accessdate=2011-08-30}} The group has vowed to take a different Orlando-related website offline every day, and have also targeted the re-election website of Mayor of Orlando Buddy Dyer and the Orlando International Airport. A member of the group left a Guy Fawkes mask outside of the mayor's home; the police are treating the picture taken of the mask as a threat against the mayor.{{cite news|last=Schlueb|first=Mark|title=Police say hackers targeted Orlando mayor|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-hackers-homeless-threat-20110706,0,7374580.story|accessdate=7 July 2011|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|date=6 July 2011|agency=Tribune Company|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5zzFY0NAY|archivedate=7 July 2011|location=Orlando, Florida}} On July 11, the group took down the website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando and the Rotary Club of Orlando.{{cite news|last=Joyce|first=Kelly|title=Hacker group Anonymous strikes again|url=http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/orange_news/071111-Anonymous-Orlando-website-hackers|accessdate=12 July 2011|newspaper=WOFL|date=11 July 2011|agency=Fox Television Stations|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/607eAZJxX|archivedate=12 July 2011|location=Orlando, Florida}}

===Operation Intifada=== On June 28, 2011, Anonymous announced that within the next 24 hours, it would hack into the website of the Knesset, the legislature of Israel, and knock it offline. It was stated that the planned attacks were a response to alleged hacking attacks by Israeli intelligence such the Stuxnet virus, a computer virus which allegedly was created by Israeli and U.S. intelligence and targeted the Nuclear program of Iran.{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4088515,00.html |title=Knesset targeted by hackers - Israel News, Ynetnews |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=1995-06-20 |accessdate=2011-08-30}}

===Operation Anti-Security=== {{main|Operation AntiSec}} The group colaborated with LulzSec to hack the websites of a number of government and corporate sources and release information from them.{{cite news|last=Olivarez-Giles|first=Nathan|title=AntiSec 'hackers without borders' claim new hack on Arizona state police|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/06/antisec-hackers-leak-files-said-to-be-from-arizona-state-police.html|accessdate=30 June 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=29 June 2011|agency=Tribune Company|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5zq3OxQQv|archivedate=30 June 2011|location=Los Angeles}}{{cite news|last=Weisenthal|first=Joe|title=Notorious Hacker Group LulzSec Just Announced That It's Finished |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/lulzsec-finished-2011-6|accessdate=25 June 2011|newspaper=Business Insider|date=25 June 2011|agency=Silicon Alley Insider|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5ziS1EJcn|archivedate=25 June 2011}} As well as targeting American sites, Anonymous also targeted government sites in Tunisia, Anguilla, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Turkey, and Australia. On 21 July, Anonymous released two PDFs allegedly taken from NATO.{{fact|date=January 2012}}

===Operation Facebook=== On August 2011, someone created an account on Twitter with the name ''OP_Facebook'' and announced the "Operation Facebook". According to the links on the post, Anonymous will take down Facebook on the fifth of November 2011.{{cite news|last=Poeter|first=Damon|title=Anonymous Vows to 'Destroy' Facebook on the Nov. 5 at 12h15|url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390768,00.asp|accessdate=11 August 2011|date=9 August 2011}} The date "November 5" is believed to be attributed to the comics V for Vendetta, where the character "''V''" conducts his major plans every fifth of November in memory of Guy Fawkes. This operation isn't assuredly an Anonymous one. There was an earlier OpFacebook that was abandoned, and this current plan is a revival of the communication channels previously used.{{cite news|last=Olson|first=Parmy|title=Why The Anonymous Facebook 'Plot' Was A Dud|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2011/08/11/why-the-anonymous-facebook-plot-was-a-dud/|accessdate=11 August 2011|newspaper=Forbes|date=11 August 2011}} The plan is contentious and does not appear to be supported by the majority of those who say they are part of Anonymous. Operation Facebook, against popular belief, never showed any signs of itself. Facebook continued to run after the supposed Operation Facebook was to begin. On that day, Anonymous tweeted that they never announced Operation Facebook and that this was some guy's idea of a joke. {{cite news|last=Tsukayama|first=Hayley|title=Facebook 'operation' shows off Anonymous's cracks|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/facebook-operation-shows-off-anonymouss-cracks/2011/08/10/gIQAL55A7I_blog.html|accessdate=11 August 2011|newspaper=Washington Post|date=10 August 2011|agency=The Washington Post Company|location=Washington, D.C.}}

===Operation BART=== In August 2011, in response to Bay Area Rapid Transit's shutdown of cell phone service in an attempt to disconnect protesters from assembling non-violently in response to a police shooting, Anonymous sent out a mass email/fax bomb to BART personnel and organized multiple mass physical protests at the network's Civic Center station.{{cite web|last=Poeter |first=Damon |url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391160,00.asp |title=Anonymous BART Protest Shuts Down Several Underground Stations | News & Opinion |publisher=PCMag.com |date=2011-08-15 |accessdate=2011-08-30}}

===Support of Occupy Wall Street=== Several contingents of Anonymous have given support to the Occupy Wall Street movement, with members attending local protests and blogs run by members covering Occupy movement.http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=1185http://anonops.blogspot.com/ http://anonywebz.com/

===Operation Syria=== In early August, Anonymous hacked the Syrian Ministry of Defense (Syria) website and replaced it with a vector graphics of the pre-Ba'ath Party flag, a symbol of the pro-democracy movement in the country, as well as a message supporting the 2011 Syrian uprising and calling on members of the Syrian Army to defect to protect protesters.{{cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/08/139094501/syria-is-hacked-by-anonymous-and-pressed-by-gulf-allies|agency=National Public Radio|date=8 August 2011|accessdate=8 August 2011|title=Syria Is Hacked By Anonymous, And Pressed By Gulf Allies|first=Bill|last=Chappell}}

In September, a group tied to Anonymous appeared on Twitter, calling themselves RevolluSec,https://twitter.com/#revolusec short for Revolution Security. They made their mission statement clear with a press releasehttp://pastebin.com/1i7VR93E posted on Pastebin. They defaced many Syrian websites, including the site of every major city in Syriahttp://youranonnews.tumblr.com/post/10622268842/every-major-city-in-syria-defaced To view the defaces after they were taken down, Telecomix mirrored them.https://telecomix.ceops.eu/material/deface-20110925/ RevoluSec also defaced The Syrian Central Bankhttp://twitpic.com/6snr99/full As well as a number of pro-regime siteshttp://youranonnews.tumblr.com/post/10666372975/12-webpages-pwnt-by-syrinyan/, replacing them with a warped imaged of Bashar al-Assad, accompanied by Nyan Cat.

Telecomix worked with Anonymous throughout the ongoing operation, Telecomix showing Syrians how to bypass the censorship, and Anonymous hacking the regime any way they can online. Both groups maintain IRC channels dedicated to this operation.

===Operation DarkNet=== In October 2011, the collective campaigned against child pornography protected by anonymity network.http://pastebin.com/T1LHnzEW They took down 40 child porn sites, published the names of over 1500 people frequenting those websites,{{cite news| url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/mobiledia/2011/10/25/hackers-attack-child-porn-sites/ | work=Forbes}} and invited the FBI and Interpol to follow up.http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/235991/20111023/anonymous-hacking-group-targets-child-porn-web-sites-releases-user-names-lolita-city-child-pornograp.htm

===Opposition to Los Zetas=== On October 6, 2011, Anonymous released a video stating that Los Zetas had kidnapped one of the group's members, and threatened that unless the hostage was freed, they would publish personal information about members of the cartel and their collaborators in politics, police, military, and business, which might lead to their prosecution by Mexican authorities, or targeting by rival cartels. The website of Gustavo Rosario Torres, a former Tabasco state prosecutor, was subsequently defaced with a message suggesting his involvement with the organization. https://secure.townnews.com/shared-content/subscription/authenticate/index.php?mode=start&domain=lmtonline.com&usereg=1&url=http%3A%2F%2F%2F%2Farticles%2F2011%2F10%2F29%2Ffront%2Fnews%2Fdoc4eac61a84b8ed028891334.txt&discover=0&amex=0{{cite web |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/155007/anonymous-tells-mexican-cartel-they-are-next/|title=Anonymous tells Mexican cartel they are next|author=Steven Hodson|date=2011-10-29|publisher=Inquisitr.com}} {{cite web| url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/anonymous-vs-zetas/ | title=Previous post Anonymous Threatens Mexico’s Murderous Drug Lords|author=Robert Beckhusen | date=2011-10-30 | publisher=Wired}} {{cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/242843/anonymous_takes_on_mexican_drug_cartel.html|title=Anonymous Takes On Mexican Drug Cartel|author=John P Mello Jr.|date=2011-10-30|publisher=PC World}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hometownstations.com/story/15909910/mexico-video-threatens-to-disclose-zetas-allies|title=Mexico: Video threatens to disclose Zetas allies|author=Associated Press|publisher=WorldNow/WLIO|date=2010-10-30}}{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/embed/3ZL0E1J7wOg |title=Anonymous video copy (cited by previous references as the October 6 video by Anonymous |publisher=youtube.com}} Early November, Los Zetas reportedly freed the kidnapped victim without knowledge of its Anonymous affiliation, as announced on Anonymous Iberoamerica blog.http://anonopsibero.blogspot.com/2011/11/comunicado-opcartel.htmlhttp://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395863,00.asp However, following widespread news coverage of the video, reporters did not find evidence of a previous Anonymous action matching the description given, and found little evidence of support among Anonymous members, particularly in Mexico.{{cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/opcartel/|title=Anonymous Skeptical of Proposed Attack on Zetas Drug Cartel|author=Quinn Norton|date=2011-10-31|publisher=Wired}} Many blogs run by members of Anonymous also report on this.http://anonywebz.com/

===Operation Brotherhood Takedown=== On November 7th, Anonymous released a warning threat to the Muslim Brotherhood that they would take down major websites belonging to their organization.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnPTBLbazAo The Muslim Brotherhood posted an article on their website explaining the dilemma.www.ikhwanonline.com The following Friday some websites belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood were down for about 6 hours. Another video was released claiming the attack would continue till November 18th.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBe9co3l9wI

===Operation Blackout=== In response to the increased recognition of the Stop Online Piracy Act bill, Anonymous decided to take drastic action. It called for Emergency Action from the people as well as mass protests and spreading the word, in a videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czY-dZQsd-k they released on November 18th. This operation is currently still ongoing. The latest activity occurred on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, where Anonymous, having previously called for a blackout from 8a-8p Eastern time, convinced Google Inc. and Wikipedia itself (albeit indirectly) to participate. Wikipedia was blacked out for 24 hours, Google shut down every service but the search engine, while blacking out their own name, and other sites participated in less-extreme ways, e.g. TV Tropes posted a black banner at the top of every page that said "Stop SOPA!" repeatedly.

===Operation Mayhem=== On November 18, Anonymous released a video claiming to have released the Guy Fawkes Virus on Facebook and would release it on Twitter. This virus had a number of different reasons for being released; the violence of the police force in Occupy Wall Street, the Stop Online Piracy Act and against anyone who claims to be against Anonymous (Group).{{fact|date=January 2012}}

===Attack on Lt. John Pike=== Anonymous released a video with the entirety of Lt. John Pike's contact information following the incident at Occupy UC Davis, in which the lieutenant pepper sprayed a group of nonviolent student protesters. YouTube has taken the video down, but not quickly enough before people could flood his phone, Skype, email, and mailbox with messages. An investigation into the event is ongoing.

===Attack on Stratfor=== On December 24th, claims were made that Anonymous stole thousands of e-mail addresses and credit card information from security firm Stratfor. Reportedly, Anonymous commented that this is because the data was unencrypted, however Anonymous put out a press-release stating "This hack is most definitely not the work of Anonymous".{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16330396|title='Anonymous' hackers hit US security firm Stratfor|author=BBC News|date=2011-12-26|publisher=BBC}}

==2012==

===Occupy Nigeria=== In solidarity with Occupy Nigeria, Anonymous has joined forces with the People's Liberation Front (group) and the Naija Cyber Hactivists of Nigeria. Anonymous promised “a relentless and devastating assault upon the web assets of the Nigerian government” in support of Occupy Nigeria. This was in protest to the removal of fuel subsidy that the majority of impoverished Nigerians depend upon for their very existence. As a consequence of the action the price of fuel and transportation has skyrocketed, causing extreme hardship upon the majority of Nigerians. On January 13, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission website was hacked, with a false report of the arrest of people involved in the oil sector replacing the normal page.http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/01/13/subsidy-protest-efcc-site-hacked-with-false-arrests-oil-moguls/

===Operation Megaupload=== {{Wikinews|US government, music industry websites taken offline in web attack}} In retaliation for the shut down of the file sharing service Megaupload and the arrest of four workers,http://www.3news.co.nz/Technology/Story/tabid/412/ctl/EditArticle/mid/3187/articleID/240007/Default.aspx?AMRetUrl=L0RlZmF1bHQuYXNweD9UYWJJZD00MTImYXJ0aWNsZUlEPTI0MDAwNw%3d%3d Anonymous DDoS the websites of Universal Music Group (the company responsible for the lawsuit against Megaupload), the United States Department of Justice, the United_States_Copyright_Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the MPAA, Warner Brothers Music and the RIAA, as well as the HADOPI the afternoon of January 19, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/01/19/anonymous-hackers-claims-attack-on-doj-universal-music-and-riaa-after-megaupload-takedown/ The operations by Anonymous are most likely driven further by anger over the House of Representatives' Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16646023

===The Polish Revolution and other anti-ACTA activism in Europe=== On January 21st a series of DDoS attacks on Polish government websites took place, for which the Anonymous took responsibility and referred to as "the Polish Revolution"http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/83910,Anonymous-shuts-down-Polish-PMs-web-site. The group via their Twitter account stated it was a revenge for upcoming signing of ACTA agreement by the Polish government. Starting with sejm.gov.pl, websites of the Polish Prime Minister, President, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, later on the police, Internal Security Agency (Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego) Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also blocked. The presumed attack was further strengthen by the media coverage which resulted in extremely high interest of public opinion, followed up by blackout of popular polish websites on 24thhttp://antyweb.pl/juz-ponad-800-serwisow-uczestniczy-w-dzisiejszym-protescie-przeciwko-acta-liczba-ta-szybko-rosnie/ and protests of thousands of people on 24th and 25th of January, in major cities of Polandhttp://warszawa.naszemiasto.pl/artykul/galeria/1251837,protest-przeciw-acta-w-warszawie-w-manifestacji-bralo,id,t.html#, against signing ACTA. Other suspected targets were the websites of Paweł Graś - the government's spokesman (blocked after Graś denied the attacks ever took place), the website of PSL (blocked after Eugeniusz Kłopotek, a member of the party, supported ACTA on air of the major tv station). Governmental sites in France's presidential websitehttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hA6W7Gu6gTAHz8KvIZTluNTh8b5Q?docId=CNG.6c59117697b540dd3fa7f0314f6ff7b4.d1 and Austria's Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Economy and also the website of the Federal Chancellor http://news.am/eng/news/90443.html were also cracked and paralysed.

==References== {{linkrot|date=January 2012}} {{Reflist|3}}

{{Anonymous and the Internet}}

Category:Timelines of recent events

fr:Chronologie des événements impliquant Anonymous

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