There are a number of things that Anonymous is associated with, but the focus on how Russia feels about their antics is one of their most interesting. In the case of Russia, they claim that Anonymous has an agenda and this agenda is to embarrass Russia, but is this really something to feel embarrassed about? Anonymous, the group of hacktivists that have brought down websites and taken down entire governments, has a new target: Russia. In a video posted on YouTube, an Anonymous member says: “We are going to show you how much the Russian government hates your freedoms.”
Anonymous is a group of hackers and online activists that claims to engage in cyber-attacks against anyone they deem a threat to free speech. It has been known to attack governments, corporations, and other organizations that it considers corrupt or immoral. While it is unclear whether Anonymous actually embarrasses Russia more than the rest of the world, it has been known to target Russian websites with DDoS attacks and deface their websites with anti-Putin messages. The group also claims to have hacked into Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and released personal information about Russian diplomats.
In recent statement, Anonymous issued an “open letter” demanding that President Putin resign because he was responsible for Ukriane issue. The letter called on Putin to step down or face further attacks from the group. I’m not sure. It’s hard to tell if the Russian government is embarrassed by Anonymous or not. If you look at the situation from a Russian perspective, it seems like they’re getting their own back on Anonymous for having embarrassingly exposed them in the first place.
We heard some people say that Anonymous is embarrassing Russia in part because it has exposed Putin secret plan. We don’t think that’s necessarily true. It’s more likely that they are embarrassing Russia because they were able to hack into Russian servers and steal information that showed how corrupt the Gov is. But even if you accept that as a valid reason for why Anonymous is embarrassing Russia, we don’t think it’s enough to justify what they’re doing here: going after random people who seem like they might know something about Russia’s involvement in Ukraine (or maybe even other countries).
The reason this is embarrassing is that Russia has been one of the most sophisticated cyber-attacks on the US government in recent years. The Russians have hacked into our electric grid, water systems, our banking system, our election machines. It’s not just embarrassing; it’s dangerous.
The news that the Russian government has been using social media to sway public opinion in favor of their own policies is not surprising. The Russian government has been working for years to control the media and online discourse, and they have been very successful at doing so. This is not just about Russia, however; it’s about all governments. Whether you’re talking about China, Iran or North Korea, any country that wants to exert control over its population will find ways to do so. The key point here is that while all governments are doing this, it doesn’t mean they’re doing it equally well or equally badly. Some countries can reach more people with their messaging than others; some get more press coverage than others; some even get results better than others.
Anonymous, the hacker collective that has been attacking Russia’s government and businesses for years, is at it again. The group has been conducting a massive cyberattack against Russian government websites since Wednesday, and in the process they’ve exposed a lot of sensitive data. Moscow is hardly the first target of Anonymous’ wrath — the group has previously taken down the websites of various Russian companies and attacked Russian government institutions such as the FSB (the successor to the KGB). But what makes this new attack different is that it appears to have been carried out in response to recent news about Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.
A video was posted online showing two men who claimed to be military pilots from Ukraine’s Air Force speaking about their experiences fighting alongside pro-Kiev troops in eastern Ukraine. The men said their planes had been shot down by Russian aircraft; one man claimed he’d seen bodies on the ground below his cockpit with no sign of life. The video was quickly picked up by Western media outlets including Reuters and ABC News, which broadcast news reports about it on television networks around the world.
There is law in Russia that makes it illegal to share any information online without permission from the state. This law has led to some online activists to form Anonymous Russia, an anonymous group dedicated to fighting back against censorship in Russia by exposing government secrets and leaking sensitive documents online.
However, while Anonymous may be fighting back against censorship in Russia, they are also spreading information about the country’s political situation and its leaders. For example, they have claimed that Russia is “on the brink” of collapse due to economic troubles caused by low oil prices and sanctions from Western countries like the U.S., which could lead to civil war or even revolution if something isn’t done soon by Russian President Vladimir Putin or Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The truth is that Russia isn’t collapsing at all.
