Facebook is the next target for the group of hackers known as Anonymous, who have vowed to “destroy” Facebook on November 5. These hacktivists, known for initiating active civil disobedience spread throughout the internet, say they are focusing on Facebook due to its misleading and delusional privacy policy.
In the video that Anonymous posted putting forth this warning via a computerized and slightly disturbing voice, they say that Facebook “has has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world.”
The warning also says, “even if you delete your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time… Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them ‘for their own good’ while they then make millions off of you.”
Facebook has continually denied the claims made over the years that they sell or share any user’s personal information, but the claims of Anonymous play on the fears of many Facebook users.
However, it has been made clear by a other members of Anonymous that this “Operation Facebook” is only being organized by some and does not necessarily have the support of the entire group. Anonymous, overall, is loosely organized with no clear leadership.
Still, it remains a question whether Anonymous will be able to be able to take down the social networking site that has 750 million users with tens of millions of them on every day, especially considering the group’s failed attempt to take down another huge website, Amazon, in December.
In the past few years, Anonymous, which originated in 2003 with its first known attacks beginning in 2006, has taken credit for disrupting a number of prominent websites, including those of PayPal, Master Card, Visa and the Church of Scientology and been held responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon and News Corp.
Most often, the group launches distributed denial-of-service attacks where multiple people use scripts to repeatedly access a website, slowing it badly or shutting it down if its servers can’t handle the traffic.
Towards the end of the video message, Anonymous adds, “One day you will look back on this and realize what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.”
November 5, however, is not just a random date for the group known for wearing Guy Fawkes masks when appearing in public. November 5 is also Guys Fawkes Day, which commemorates the day in 1605 when Fawkes and others placed explosives under the British House of Lords in an attempt to blow up parliament.
Looks like Facebook has a decent threat before it. Wonder if everyone logging on to Facebook on November 5 to see if it is “destroyed” will help or hinder the Anonymous operation…