The well-known hacking group Anonymous has issued yet another statement regarding the recent arrests by the FBI and PayPal’s decision to block donations to WikiLeaks. In response, Anonymous is urging the service’s users to close their accounts.
The statement, issued through Pastebin as always, calls the law enforcement agents who conducted the arrests on Anonymous members incompetent, arguing that those who organized major attacks were sentenced to the same punishment as those who played a significantly small role in them:
What the FBI needs to learn is that there is a vast difference between adding one’s voice to a chorus and digital sit-in with Low Orbit Ion Cannon, and controlling a large botnet of infected computers. And yet both of these are punishable with exactly the same fine and sentence.
If you’re not yet aware, the FBI conducted arrests all across the United States just last week in states like New York, California, New Jersey and Florida. The "suspected" hackers were sent to prison and their electronic devices were seized for searching. According to Anonymous, these individuals were charged a fine of up to $500,000 and up to an additional 15 years of jail time.
Anonymous is also objecting to PayPal’s decision not to allow money transfers to WikiLeaks, a popular website that has taken the media by fire several times over the last year for leaking confidential information belonging to companies and governments. PayPal’s move is stopping all users of the service to donate to WikiLeaks. In response, Anonymous is urging supports to close their PayPal accounts and "consider an alternative":
We encourage anyone using PayPal to immediately close their accounts and consider an alternative. […] PayPal’s willingness to fold to legislation should be proof enough that they don’t deserve the customers they get. They do not deserve your business, and they do not deserve your respect.
Anonymous hasn’t gone beyond suggesting its followers to leave PayPal, at least explicitly. There haven’t been threats of attacks, yet PayPal should definitely take measures, since both LulzSec and Anonymous have shown evidence of being skilled hackers in the past, having broken in to many supposedly "high-security" systems. With so many individuals and companies using the service, an attack on PayPal could be devastating.
Read up the whole statement here.
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