Why The Anonymous Facebook ‘Plot’ Was A Dud

Yesterday a number of media outlets breathlessly reported that Anonymous, a collective identity for online hacktivists, trolls and other cyber punks, planned to “kill” Facebook.

CNN reported that a YouTube video, complete with dramatic intro music and computerized, Stephen-Hawking style narration had started widely-circulating this week, saying Facebook would “be destroyed” on Nov. 5. This is the date Britons celebrate Guy Fawkes, a revolutionary who tried to blow up Parliament more than 400 years ago, made infinitely more famous outside the U.K. by the film “V for Vendetta.”

Gawker’s Adrian Chen gives a decent explanation of why this was, in fact, “a terrible misunderstanding.” It wasn’t just that “OpFacebook” was a hoax, as key Anonymous organizers have suggested. A few supporters of Anonymous had actually collaborated earlier this year on a operation aimed at taking Facebook offline, and bringing attention to the way Facebook used people’s private data for commercial gain.

Back on July 1 there was indeed a channel on the main chat network for Anonymous called #OpFacebook, in which about two dozen supporters were discussing an attack to disrupt the site on July 4. A few in the room were there largely as hangers on. I checked it out at the time, not expecting too much. “Oooo I wanna hack something lol,” one chat room participant said. When I asked another if they had ever hacked something before, they replied, “I’m here to learn.”

Someone was doing something though. A Twitter account, @OP_Facebook, had been set up and on July 16 it tweeted a link to the now infamous YouTube video. A few more worked collaboratively on a lengthy, official statement on the online text application PiratePad, about how this was “not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent.”

When the crowd-sourced document mentioned the date July 4, someone had added in parenthesis, “Guys, we are running out of time, we need a new date.” When that date finally arrived, nothing happened.

Gawker reports that OpFacebook’s original participants eventually got bored and left, but that soon enough, other people on the chat network stumbled upon the room they’d left empty, save for a link to their PiratePad statement. They picked up the cause, using Nov. 5 as the new planned date of attack. With the drip feed, then rush of media attention, the OpFacebook chat room is now booming with hundreds of new participants, increasing the likelihood there really could be some kind of attack on Facebook after all.

One reason the original, July gathering for OpFacebook came about may have been the momentum created by Anonymous splinter group LulzSec, which had disbanded in late June. But why did this muddled cyber assault re-emerge in August? According to one source and long-time supporter of Anonymous, new folks who jumped into OpFacebook were almost certainly among the flood of kids who visit 4chan, widely seen as the home of Anonymous, every summer, itching to join a cyber attack.

Share and Enjoy

Social media privacy tips

August 11, 2011, 12:36 PM — Social media sites and applications are all the rage. Hundreds of millions of people each day log onto Facebook, Google+ and many other social media sites. But there’s a definite downside to social media and it involves your privacy.

Here are some ways to protect your privacy while using social media.

1. Assume that nothing is private on the web and act accordingly.

2. Make sure you log out of public computers completely.

3. Read and understand fully the privacy policies of social media sites.

4. Examine your privacy settings on each social media service, and make sure they are set according to your individual preferences. Never be complacent and opt for the default settings.

5. Beware of links that come from people you don’t know on social media sites. They could take you to a dangerous site.

6. Use Google and other search engines to monitor your name and photos. Try to make sure that unflattering photos and other information aren’t being spread around the web.

7. Never, ever share your social media passwords with anyone. Ever.

8. Only friend people on social media sites that you actually know in real life.

9. Never discuss private or intimate things on social media sites. Pick up the phone instead.

10. Use two separate email accounts for work and personal correspondence.

11. Clear your browser’s cache regularly to remove potentially embarrassing information about you.

These tips will help keep your habits and information private. Take them to heart and act accordingly.

Protecting Your Online Privacy: Tips for Students | Newswise

Share and Enjoy