Anonymous said one of its members was kidnapped by the cartel
John Ribeiro (IDG News Service) 31 October, 2011 17:27
Hacker group Anonymous has threatened to expose the identity of members and supporters of a Mexican drug cartel by Nov. 5, in retaliation for the kidnapping of a group member, and has already hacked the web site of a former state official, alleging that he has associations with the dreaded Zetas.
The move does not however have the support of all Anonymous members with some of them worrying about retaliation from the drug cartel. At one point on Sunday, some members tried to call off the action. But key Anonymous members continue to back it.
A video in Spanish posted on YouTube on Oct. 6 by a person calling himself "MrAnonymousguyfawkes", threatened that Anonymous will publish the names, photos, and addresses of police officials, journalists, and taxi drivers that collaborate with the drug cartel, hoping the government will arrest them.
[ With the increasing threat of cyber crimes, protect yourself and stay informed on the latest news with Computerworld's Security newsletter ]
"You made a huge mistake by taking one of us. Release him. And if anything happens to him, you (expletive) will always remember this upcoming November 5th," said a masked person in the video, according to a translation provided by another user of YouTube.
November 5 is marked as Guy Fawkes day after his November 5, 1605 conspiracy to attempt to blow up the British Parliament. The Guy Fawkes mask, popularized by the movie V for Vendetta, has been adopted by Anonymous.
Anonymous claimed on Sunday to have defaced the website of a former official in the Mexican state of
"We all know who they are and where they are," said the speaker in the video. Anonymous did not however claim that its hacking skills gave it special access to information on the cartel. Nor are its traditional tactics such as DDoS (distributed-denial-of-service) attacks on websites likely to be of use against armed gangs, according to various analysts.
The drug cartel has killed people who have criticized them on blogs and other social media, according to reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists in
As newspapers are censored by fear, Mexican citizens, and many journalists, are turning to social media and online forums to share news and inform each other, said Sara Rafsky, a research associate in CPJ's Americas program. "So it should be no shock that drug cartels are turning their attention to the Internet".
"Realize that consequences are death. Participation is limited to willing anons. Anonymous is not unanimous," said an Anonymous member in a Twitter message, after a number of people on Twitter warned Anonymous of the consequences of taking on the drug cartel.
Read more:
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/405791/anonymous_threatens_expose_mexican_drug_cartel/
