snarp: (Artie)
Snarp ([personal profile] snarp) wrote2007-07-28 11:36 pm

The hacker organization known as Anonymous

If you haven't seen that Fox video, you need to watch it right now. I didn't believe it was real until the announcer's name showed up at the bottom and I paused the thing to Google it - he actually does work for Fox.

I haven't seen a transcript yet, so I made one myself. You will thank me.

[On a screen in the background is an inspirational poster-style image of a man without a face with the word "ANONYMOUS" printed underneath it. This image recurs repeatedly throughout the segment.]

Announcer: They call themselves Anonymous. They are hackers on steroids, treating the web like a real-life video game. Sacking websites, invading MySpace accounts, disrupting innocent people's lives - and if you fight back, watch out. Phil Shuman tracks down the hacker games in this Fox 11 investigation.

Shuman: "Destroy. Die. Attack." Threats from a gang of computer hackers calling themselves "Anonymous."

David: I've had seven different passwords and they've got 'em all so far.

Shuman: They attack innocent people, like an internet hate machine.

[The text "Internet hate machine." zooms up from the bottom of the screen.]

[Caption says "Anonymous Credo".]

Man With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: We are "Anonymous." We are strong, we do not forgive, we do not forget.

Shuman: Those who fight back face death threats.

Answering Machine Recording: I'm gonna [beep] slit his throat.

Shuman: Anonymous has even threatened to bomb sports stadiums.

Woman With Face Hidden:
I believe they're domestic terrorists.

[Video clip of a van being blown up. A caption says "Demonstration".]

Shuman: Their name comes from their secret websites. It requires anyone posting on the site to remain anonymous. MySpace users are among their favorite targets. People like David.

David: - [incomprehensible] and the next thing I know I had a bunch of naked guys on my profile.

Shuman: Anonymous hacked his site and plastered it with gay sex pictures. His girlfriend left him.

David: She thought that, that I was cheating on her with guys.

Shuman: They crashed his computer with a virus, and used his own email to infect everyone on his friends list.

David: Out of ninety friends it killed thirty-two of my friends' computers.

Shuman: Now, David was apparently just a random victim. We found his MySpace password on an underground hacker site linked to Anonymous. There are literally thousands of stolen passwords on that site. And victims are left wondering - why is all this happening to me?

Guy With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: They will tell you, we want to wreak chaos and disorder and ruin people's lives.

Shuman: This hacker, who wants us to hide his identity, spent months checking out sites linked to Anonymous.

[Screen shows some message board, with a post containing what appears to be a picture of Aeris from Final Fantasy VII, then another board with a post with large text saying "NOW THEY'RE TAKING OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M OUTTA THIS SITE, YALL CAN GET AT ME [unreadable] OR MY CHAT LINKS, PEACE!!!!!!!!"]

Guy With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: They get laughs, they enjoy doing this. They get what they call, "lulz."

Shuman: "LULZ" is a corruption of "LOL," which stands for "laugh out loud."

[Screen shows someone scrolling down an anime/manga oriented site]

Shuman: Anonymous gets big lulz from pulling random pranks. For example, messing with online children's games like Habbo Hotel. The pranks are often anti-semitic or racist. And always posted on the internet.

[CG graphic of a little person with an afro standing in a graveyard full of graves with afros, with text saying "NEVAR FORGET!! ANONYMOUS DOES NOT FORGIVE", followed by an animation of what appears to be Hitler dancing under a disco ball.]

Shuman: But truly epic lulz come from raids and invasions, branded on the anonymous websites with an "i." Like their nationwide plan to destroy the new Harry Potter book ending.

[From a Youtube-branded video taken in a department store.]

Person With Megaphone With English Accent: Attention shoppers! Voldemort kills [beep]!

Shuman: Their most notorious stunt? A bomb threat against seven football stadiums, which drew national media attention.

[Video of van exploding is shown again.]

Another Anouncer:
The claim is that trucks loaded with radioactive material would be detonated in the stadiums.

Shuman: One man was arrested last year after posting the threat, now thought to be a hoax. He's pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. This hacker finally got fed up.

Guy With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: I decided to either shut them down, or stop them, or, or simply prevent as many raids as possible.

Shuman: Anonymous branded him as a "lulz killer," accusing him of ruining their fun.

Guy With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: They said they would rape me, they would kill me.

[Woman is shown closing her curtains.]

Shuman: This mother's also fighting Anonymous. Her whole family's been under attack.

Woman With Face Hidden: They posted pictures of all of us.

Shuman: Anonymous also posted their home address and phone numbers.

Woman With Face Hidden: [They?] pretty much said that, you've got the information now. Do what you need to do. Go, go, go.

Shuman: Death threats started pouring in.

Answering Machine Recording: You're kid's a [beep] emo bitch and I'm gonna slit his throat.

Woman With Face Hidden: Your heart is breaking. You need to keep your family safe.

Shuman: She installed electronic security, a phone-tracing system, and bought a dog.

[Video clip of a dog running with a dog-whine sound effect.]

Shuman:
Then she started tracking down Anonymous members, called in the FBI, but fears they won't act until it's too late.

Woman With Face Hidden: Would you do something about it if one of us ended up dead? Probably.

Shuman: Some victims told us they just hope Anonymous will get bored and forget about them. But insiders say, don't count on that.

Man With Face Hidden, Voice Altered: According to their credo they never forget.

[Inspirational poster-style image of a headless man, with the phrase: "ANONYMOUS: Because none of us are as cruel as all of us."]

Shuman: Phil Shuman, Fox 11 News.