Anonymous threatens a major DOS attack
Posted on: 05/27/2012 12:07 PM
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According to the FBI's Cyber Division, today (May 25th) may see a DOS (Denial of Service) attack on many major corporations.
Apple Computer, McDonald's, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, Bank of China and Wal-mart are among the firms singled out for attacks as part of "Operation New Son," which will take place today and involve "online attacks against targeted organizations in the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and the leaking of classified data, according to a warning issued from Cyber Division on Thursday.
The Bureau did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment. However, the warning was based on what the Bureau termed "open source intelligence" gathered "as part of our impending investigations into hacktivist groups associated with Anonymous."
The list of companies targeted is varied and includes retail, banking, energy and mining firms as well as telecommunications and technology companies. In the past, Anonymous has targeted such firms as HBGary, Bank of America and PBS, the U.S. Public Broadcasting System, as well as Nokia, Cargill, Bestbuy, AT&T and computer giant Apple.
Operation New Son (OpNewSon) dates back to April on IRC and in documents posted on file sharing sites. The purported goal of the operation is to "Stick it to the man" by attacking high profile companies. A tweet sent out via a Twitter account affiliated with the group called for the operation to begin at 6:00pm PST on Friday, May 25. The group also posted what appear to be leaked e-mail account information from car maker Hyundai and contact information allegedly taken from Stanford University. Neither organization was listed as a possible target in the Infraguard warning.
Anonymous often fails to carry out their threats. The breadth of their planned attack is rather enormous. However, Anonymous as well as affiliates like LulzSec have been known to hoard data stolen in compromises and release them at a time of their choosing, which means that Friday may indeed bring evidence that the group has penetrated the defenses of some of the organizations listed.
Apple Computer, McDonald's, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, Bank of China and Wal-mart are among the firms singled out for attacks as part of "Operation New Son," which will take place today and involve "online attacks against targeted organizations in the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and the leaking of classified data, according to a warning issued from Cyber Division on Thursday.
The Bureau did not immediately respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment. However, the warning was based on what the Bureau termed "open source intelligence" gathered "as part of our impending investigations into hacktivist groups associated with Anonymous."
The list of companies targeted is varied and includes retail, banking, energy and mining firms as well as telecommunications and technology companies. In the past, Anonymous has targeted such firms as HBGary, Bank of America and PBS, the U.S. Public Broadcasting System, as well as Nokia, Cargill, Bestbuy, AT&T and computer giant Apple.
Operation New Son (OpNewSon) dates back to April on IRC and in documents posted on file sharing sites. The purported goal of the operation is to "Stick it to the man" by attacking high profile companies. A tweet sent out via a Twitter account affiliated with the group called for the operation to begin at 6:00pm PST on Friday, May 25. The group also posted what appear to be leaked e-mail account information from car maker Hyundai and contact information allegedly taken from Stanford University. Neither organization was listed as a possible target in the Infraguard warning.
Anonymous often fails to carry out their threats. The breadth of their planned attack is rather enormous. However, Anonymous as well as affiliates like LulzSec have been known to hoard data stolen in compromises and release them at a time of their choosing, which means that Friday may indeed bring evidence that the group has penetrated the defenses of some of the organizations listed.
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