From LulzSec to 4Chan: a hacking who's who
Guide to hackers and online mischief makers
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 22 June 2011 17.14 BST
- Article history
LulzSec members and others in the hacking community have differing agendas when it comes to who and what they target. Photograph: AlamyAnonymous
Born out of the online messageboard 4Chan in 2003, the shadowy group's first high-profile target was the Church of Scientology. Publicity from the months-long attack, dubbed Project Chanology, is believed to have attracted hundreds of members – mostly young males – to the cause. After a string of more low-key attacks on copyright-enforcement agencies and music bodies, the group rallied behind WikiLeaks amid the fallout from the US diplomatic cables leaks in December last year.
Members Believed to have under a dozen "key influencers" who broadly dictate who – or what – the group attacks. At its peak in December 2010, hundreds of low-skilled internet users from across the world are thought to have used their computer in support of Anonymous attacks. The group has since splintered over disagreements about its direction.
Agenda Broadly pro-democracy and freedom of speech – although the group revels in crippling access to high-profile websites
Timeline
Circa 2003 Emerges from 4Chan. For years the focus of its attacks is anti-music piracy bodies
January 2008 First high-profile clash – target: the Church of Scientology
June 2009 Emboldened by Project Chanology, the group surfaces again in support of the pro-democracy movement during disputed Iranian presidential elections
December 2010 Redoubles its efforts with attacks against companies perceived to be anti-WikiLeaks, including Visa and MasterCard, after release of US diplomatic cables
Where to find it Dozens of Twitter accounts have been shut down by the social network, but more keep popping up. The most prominent account, with almost 30,000 followers, is @Anonops. Most of the group's public statements are made through its website, Anonops.blogspot.com
Where will it go from here? The future of Anonymous is largely safeguarded by its loose-knit, shambolic structure. The biggest threat to its influence is the splinter group, LulzSec, which is believed to be made up of a number of its former key members.
LulzSec
Spinoff from Anonymous which says its members are hacking sites for the "lulz" (fun).
Members Fewer than 10. Reckoned to be young – 16- to 24-year-olds – given their initial targets: the US X-Factor and computer games companies. Members said to include "Kayla", who owns a 10,000-strong "botnet" of virus-infected PCs that can be used to attack sites on command
Agenda Cause the odd bit of havoc and embarrassment for high-profile sites or organisations
Timeline
7 May 2011 Hacks US X-Factor contestants database
29 May Hacks site of Public Broadcasting Service in the US to add story claiming that Tupac Shakur, the rapper killed in 1996, is alive
2 June Hacks Sony Pictures Europe
6 June Hacks Nintendo, though insistent that "we're not targeting Nintendo"
8 June Claims to have accessed NHS system with thousands of passwords, but no proof provided
13 June Hacks US Senate website
15 June Possibly brings down CIA website, though claim not proven
18 June Hacks Sega, though claim not proven and is later denied
20 June Brings down Serious Organised Crime Agency site in UK
21 June Denies hacking UK census data, as suggested by some reports
Where to find them Twitter: twitter.com/lulzsec; Web: lulzsecurity.com
Where will it go from here? Depending on the outcome of investigations by police in the UK and US, it will either scale back or get caught. It has a number of enemies and adversaries online, including The Jester.
The Jester
Highly skilled, lone wolf former US military hacker.
Members One
Agenda Pro-US, pro-military who especially enjoys taking down jihadist websites, but will take on anyone who he judges to be anti-American or uppity
Timeline Multiple "takedowns" of jihadist websites over a number of years and attack on WikiLeaks following release of US embassy cables last year
Where to find him Web: th3j35t3r.wordpress.com/; Twitter: twitter.com/th3j35t3r
Where will he go from here? As he never troubles the US or UK intelligence services, and appears to be smarter than others ranged against him, he could continue as long as he likes.
Patriotic Nigras (aka PN)
"Griefers" who caused trouble in the online world Second Life
Members 100-200
Agenda Cause trouble – "grief" – in the avatar-driven world
Timeline
2006 PN is formed
October 2006 Raids a chatshow in the virtual world, appearing as giant pink penises
February 2007 Raids the Second Life headquarters of then US presidential candidate John Edwards. Linden Labs, owner of Second Life, cracks down on PN
Where to find it Second Life
Where will it go from here? Likely to vanish as the virtual world attracts less media attention.
4Chan
Influential messageboard launched in October 2003. 4Chan's infamous /b/ messageboard has been described as a place where "people try to shock, entertain, and coax free porn from each other". The forum has become a breeding ground for people who want to create mischief online and has spawned many of the vituperative groups who launch online attacks.
4Chan gave birth to many of the internet's most famous memes, including Rickrolling and Rage Guy. Its users frequently become embroiled in spats with other online communities, most recently a 4Chan subgroup attacked Tumblr for "stealing [its] memes".
Members Claims to have 25 million monthly users, making it one of the most engaged websites
Agenda None, except to remain anonymous and post whatever members want on its forums
Timeline
October 2003 Launches as place to share obscure Japanese animation and, eventually, erotic images.
9 July 2008 Its originally anonymous founder, 24-year-old Christopher Poole, is unmasked by the Wall Street Journal
10 July The swastika symbol moves to the top of Google's list of search trends after a request to search for it was posted on the /b/ board
September The hacker of Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email account posts the password on /b/. Her account is suspended after multiple attempts to access it
July 2010 A Twitter poll asks which country Canadian teen popstar Justin Bieber's should visit on his world tour. 4chan users vote en mass for North Korea
December 4chan suffers a distributed denial of service attack
Where to find them: 4Chan.org
Where will they go from here? The attraction of 4Chan to young, bored males shows no sign of waning, although its founder as turned his attention to a new, more refined online sharing project known as Canvas.
Hacking accused remanded for questioning
British teenager accused of bringing down website of Serious Organised Crime Agency held at London police station. By Josh Halliday
Buy WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's war on secrecy
Thursday, June 23, 2011
From LulzSec to 4Chan: a hacking who's who | Technology | guardian.co.uk
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