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Anonymous Threatens Online Attack if Rob Ford Evicts Occupy Toronto

Amorphous hacktivist network says Toronto Occupiers are exercising their right to speech and should be left alone.

By Christopher Bird , and Hamutal Dotan

“The brave citizens of Toronto are peaceful and well-mannered Occupiers, and we will not let the City, or the mayor that uses vulgar language in public, get involved. You have said that by next week the Occupiers shall be removed, and we say by next week if you do not change your mind, you shall be removed from the internet.”

So says a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday by Anonymous Operation, the always-changing community of hacktivists perhaps best known for derailing the sites of companies including PayPal and MasterCard, as payback for blocking financial donations to Wikileaks.

Anonymous is, depending on who you ask, anything from a group of cunning cyber-terrorists to a bunch of nerds wearing Guy Fawkes masks trolling for lolz so they can brag about it on 4chan. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

The group (or bunch of subgroups, or… well, nobody’s really sure exactly what Anonymous is or how to define it, because they’re anonymous, except that they’re probably something) first rose to prominence in 2008 when it protested Scientology in cities around the world, including Toronto. Since then the group has further made a name for itself by conducting denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and other hacks on people or organizations deemed “enemies,” as well as assisting in the coordination of public protests worldwide. Anonymous has been particularly involved with the Arab Spring revolutions, conducting attacks on both Egyptian and Tunisian governments during those countries’ revolutions, as well as hacking the Syrian Defense Ministry’s website during the Syrian uprising.

Can Anonymous back up the threats they’ve made against Rob Ford? The only answer is “maybe.” When Anonymous targets someone, the result can vary widely. On the one hand, their takedown of HBGary Federal earlier this year, in which they gained almost total control of that company’s email system, or the recent “Operation Darknet”, which took down a ring of child pornography sites, demonstrate that Anonymous can be mercilessly effective. On the other hand, those moments can be contrasted with their campaign against the Koch brothers, which so far has only resulted in a call to boycott Koch-owned products. Because Anonymous is an amorphous, semi-leaderless organization, it is impossible to predict what they might be able to do against the mayor or the City of Toronto.

Hat tip to Nadia Halim.

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Comments

  • Ken

    Can’t stand Mayor Ford….. but I hope he busts the asses off the arrogant anonymous jerks who should keep the hell out of Toronto’s affairs.

    • Shut

      Zzzz

  • Anonymous

    The Left take their “hatred” of Rob Ford way too far. This is getting ridiculous.

    • Anonymous

      The Right eat too many babies and rape too many cats.

    • The Ninjay

      Are you really so simple; so monochromatic; so, utterly, hopelessly, pathetically naive to see life in only two shades? Left vs Right? Do you really believe that anyone truly is one or the other? Or perhaps you simply only “think” in Bumpersticker.

      In any case, I pity you. And all the rest who are like you.

      • Anonymous

        Oh c’mon, don’t be so naive. Every leftist blog including this one have a big hate-on for Ford. Why aren’t you asking yourself why Anonymous isn’t going after the Mayors of Vancouver, London, Ont., Halifax and Quebec City whom all deployed police officers to forcibly remove protesters?

        Rob Ford is the only politician in all of Canada ensuring this BS!

        • The Ninjay

          “Leftist blog” – it seems that you’ve missed (and synchronistically proved) my point.

          Responding to your question: I’m not sure; but I can reason objectively.

          Toronto is a world city – and a financial capital that hosts the world’s 7th largest stock exchange. (Finance is the number one issue for Occupy.) Taking it further – Toronto is a cultural capital. It’s a tourism capital. An internet capital. Toronto is arguably the beating heart of the country.

          Why are those other cities not targeted? Well, because frankly, they are provincial markets that are non-starters on the world radar. It’s akin to comparing New York City to Omaha, Columbus or Boise.

          Beyond the very obvious – it could be that the author of the Anonymous video is based in Toronto.

          Rob Ford, being the leader of a city that attracts significant world interest, is going to be targeted for any and all of those reasons.

          –

          Objective thinking is the basis of intelligence. Without either, all you have are empty words that embarrass us all. All politics aside, Rob Ford is a controversial choice for this city. Do your community a favour and expand your view beyond the “little camp” that you self-identify with.

      • Anonymous

        Could you point out any non-leftist opinions in the articles or comments from regulars?

        The Torontoist community has openly and proudly admitted to being leftist on numerous occasions. I’m not sure why you feel such shame about that.

        Also, reading your rambling opinions in the comments on this page, it’s quite clear that you’re neither objective or reasonable.

        • The Ninjay

          Sure I could find people who identify as The Left, who are equally black and white in their thinking; many of who pointlessly attack The Right. If you read my words as my literal position, they can be applied to anyone who sees life in just two shades. You’ve proved to be more diverse in your response than these others – and yet you struggle still with Getting It.

          I’m not here to point out anything except the absurdity of bipartisanship for the sake of bipartisanship. What happens elsewhere on this blog is irrelevant. My comments on this page were each inspired by an extremist who draws parallels where parallels are very hazily drawn. Your comments fares no better, I’m afraid.

          One can be critical of a politician for many reasons other than Dogma. That’s my sole point.

          -

          Regarding being objective or reasonable, I used those words regarding my assessment of the Anonymous threat, and why Toronto might be targeted. Whether or not I am that way in every comment is disputable, depending on who you are – but overall, irrelevant to the context. Thanks for coming out :)

          • The Ninjay

            In fact the word I used was “reason”, as in: “I can reason objectively”. You slipped that completely different word in on me and I fell for it, good one :)

  • Anonymous

    When they catch some of the members of this group–as they have in the past, they should be treated as terrorists, and that means they should be treated like the jihadists. If you’re caught you face 20 years minimum in prison.

    • Shutup

      Ok calm down. The only terrorists round here are Harper and Obama

    • The Ninjay

      Oops, I accidentally “liked” your comment when I reached to click “Reply”. For the record, that one doesn’t count.

      Thankfully we have educated professionals that design our law – who are bound by the choices of educated professionals who came before them.

      There’s a difference between a cyber-terrorist and a terrorist who blows up people and infrastructure. Just like there’s a difference between a murderer and a white-collar criminal.

      You clearly hate those people with equal intensity; why not just say so, instead of choosing words that make you look like a fool?

      I wouldn’t elect you to run my dry cleaners, let alone my legal system. Can you imagine? “Read my lips, you bad customer! The sign says 7 days for suits, and 7 days for socks!”

  • Anonymous

    BTW, some of these so-called anonymous group members have been tied to criminal organizations. When you steal someone’s credit card information, you are nothing but a criminal!!

    • The Ninjay

      As the writer pointed out – pretty strongly, I might add – there is no definition to Anonymous; yet you have subtly brushed the entire organization with the same broad stroke.

      There’s this wonderful little idea called “Literacy”. I encourage you to set out to understand the breadth of the concept. It’s amazing how you can apply it (to great advantage) in life, with relatively little effort.

      Here’s a start for you in your quest (should you make the choice to accept this challenge):

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jess-ONeill/504360239 Jess O’Neill

    When the next liberal mayor is elected, I’m not going to shut up until the next election. I’m going to sit and yell in the ears of all the socialist morons who just can’t accept that they didn’t win this election. Where is this kind of protest for Steven Harper? None. The progressive folks of Toronto can’t wrap their mind around the fact that their mayor isn’t going to go out and take the lead role in Les Miserables.

    I’m guessing anonymous is threatening to do what they did to Facebook two days ago. Oh wait… They didn’t do anything, because they’re a bunch of posers, wannabees, kids acting tough but with absolutely no idea what a subnet is. Go get a life children.

    • http://piorkowski.ca qviri

      When the next liberal mayor is elected, don’t forget to name-call and petty-insult like a fifth grader!

    • The Ninjay

      “When the next liberal mayor is elected, I’m not going to shut up until the next election. I’m going to sit and yell in the ears of all the socialist morons who just can’t accept that they didn’t win this election. ”

      That’s sad, Jess. I pity you for the life you will choose to lead. On the flip-side, I giggle a little that somehow this was meant to be a threat. (Against a non-existant group that bumpersticker manufacturers designed to dupe simpletons into buying something. (Do you even know what it is that you’ve bought into?))

      I invite you to read my posts to Fresh_Start, somewhere near the top of this comment thread. I also invite you to educate yourself, for the good of society (if not for the sake of yourself and your family).

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jess-ONeill/504360239 Jess O’Neill

        It was clearly a jab at all the liberals and socialists that won’t give up their smear campaign

        • The Ninjay

          Mr O’Neill,

          It was clearly a jab. The irony is that you failed to respond to anything I said, choosing to continue your war against liberals and socialists.

          “won’t give up”. Do you not see the irony? At all?

          By your Facebook profile I can see that you are young. I won’t hold any of this against you :)

          TN

          • Mjyot

            facebook creeper

    • Anonymous

      It’s Stephen, not Steven. Details do matter when trying to establish some credibility.
      Calling people ‘morons’ instead of sticking to facts certainly doesn’t help.

  • Michael Toledano

    A detailed primer on Anonymous for those who are still confused: http://themassornament.com/?p=1207

  • W. K. Lis

    The reason Rob Ford hasn’t yet kicked the occupiers out is because it would cost money. If he finds enough pennies on the sidewalk, he will, sooner if not later.

  • Anonymous

    Leaping lizards! The Blog Right astroturfers are out in full force today!