Hackavist groups including Anonymous have launched DDoS attacks against a plethora of websites including those belonging to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Universal Music group, Warner Music group and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The attacks are in retaliation for federal authorities pulling the plug on the popular website Megaupload, accusing it of copyright infringement and intellectual property theft by illegally sharing movies, TV shows and e-books.
The move to shut down Megaupload is the result of two years of work by the Justice Department. The law enforcement executed more than 20 search warrants in nine countries including the USA, shut down servers in USA, Netherlands and Canada, and blocked 18 domain names associated with Megaupload. The crackdown went further, arresting seven individuals including the New Zealand based Kim Dotcom, the CEO of Megaupload.
This attack gives one a feeling of deja-vu, considering that hackavist groups have reacted more strongly for much less. Anonymous, for its part is also supposedly considering attacking members of the US Congress who support the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the protect IP Act (PIPA). Critics allege that SOPA will strangle free speech on the internet. Wikipedia and Reddit blacking out their websites for a day last week in protest of this legislation is a shot in the arm for hackavists. In what it styles as “OpDonkeyPunch” Anonymous plans to devise innovative ways to target the members of the Congress and their donors.
Source: http://www.networkworld.com/
JAN
