Over the final weekend of 2012 hacktivist group Anonymous released a video and statement that they will be busy in 2013 citing the notable attacks that occurred over the last year while warning of the operations they are continuing and the new ones they are planning for this year. While the group vows to continue creating havoc, a recent report from McAfee says the hacker collective will decline this year.
In a video released at the end of 2012, Anonymous touted their cyber-attacks from the year and warned viewers with the message to expect them in 2013. The video recruiting new members to join the hacker collective mentions the Anonymous-organized attacks that shut down U.S. Department of Justice and Motion Picture Association of America webs sites along with other cyber-attacks. The video then goes on to mention Operation Syria, which included successful attacks in 2012 and is currently still running with more plans for 2013. Just a few days after a report was released saying Anonymous would be less relevant in 2013, the hacktivist group released a video and separate statement to say “we are still here.”
The 2013 Threat Predictions report from anti-virus company McAfee expects the Anonymous hacktivist collective will decline in 2013 as their reputation diminishes from attacks that are “un-coordinated and unclear.” The report does not predict that hacktivism and pre-orchestrated cyber-attacks will decline, rather that the more notable attacks will be from politically motivated extremist groups whereas Anonymous will become less relevant due to their decentralized structure. Additionally, Barret Brown, considered to be an unofficial spokesman for the Anonymous collective, was arrested last September for his involvement with the Anonymous led breach of security firm Stratfor and making threats against the FBI, removing one of the most influential members of group. Several other Anonymous members were also arrested in 2012 for their involvement in DDoS attacks against MasterCard, Visa and PayPal for cutting off payments to WikiLeaks.
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