Tech

What is Anonymous and what does it do?

Ben Gilbert

2015-11-17T22:49:31Z

International hacking collective Anonymous declared "war" on ISIS this past weekend — a declaration it ascribes to the Paris attacks that occurred last Friday which resulted in the death of 129 people.

The group has reportedly had an impact already in helping Twitter to identify "thousands" of pro-ISIS social media accounts, and by outing alleged ISIS members' personal information. And there's loads more weaponry in Anonymous' arsenal that it's still yet to use.

But what is Anonymous? Where does it come from? What does the group do? And what is its goal?

Anonymous is a loosely affiliated group of hackers, specializing in everything from private data retrieval to shutting down networks.

guy fawkes — A female protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask participates in an anti-government rally organised by Bahrain's main opposition group Al Wefaq, in the village of Salmabad south of Manama, April 12, 2013. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The group's origins aren't definitive, but most accounts trace Anonymous back to 4chan: an online forum where users' identities are obscured by forced anonymity.

Even the name "Anonymous" comes from 4chan, where no usernames are allowed.

Activism wasn't what first united Anonymous; "trolling" was.

The group, populated primarily by 4chan members in its formative years, first went after an online game named "Habbo Hotel." The intention wasn't to hack, but to troll.

For example, Anonymous flooded the game with extra characters, essentially making it impossible for the game's players to enter areas of the game world.

In 2008, the group evolved in a fundamental way: it became involved with "Project Chanology," an anti-Scientology movement.

The group next united over an anti-piracy company, Aiplex, which worked with the Motion Picture Association of America to engage in cyber warfare against popular piracy networks like The Pirate Bay.

But things got much more political during the Arab Spring protests, which started in Tunisia in late 2010. Anonymous members supported the revolutionaries, and helped by engaging in cyberattacks on the former Tunisian government.

The Guy Fawkes mask popularized by Anonymous has become an international symbol of protest.

More recently, Anonymous took aim at anti-homosexual groups and legislature, like the Westboro Baptist Church and the government of Uganda (where laws prohibiting homosexuality were being considered).

Anonymous Westboro Baptist Church website

Which isn't to say things are all political: the attack on Sony that brought down the PlayStation Network — Sony's online PlayStation service — was perpetrated by members of Anonymous.

The group has largely stayed politically-motivated since the PlayStation Network hack back in 2011. It took down the computer network of the Ferguson, Miss. police department following the shooting death of Michael Brown.

ferguson — Members of a rowdy group of demonstrators stand with their hands up as they are lit by a police spotlight on West Florissant during protests in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown near Ferguson, Missouri August 18, 2014. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Monday, after days of unrest sparked by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

And earlier this year, it promised vengeance for the attack on French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Last Saturday, a video was released spelling out the group's declaration of war on ISIS.

Here's the full video:

And here's an English translation, in case you don't speak French:

"Yesterday, Friday 13 2015, our country, France, was attacked by ISIS terrorists.

These terrorist attacks cannot be be left unpunished. That’s why members of Anonymous around the world will track you. Yes, you the vermin who kill innocents, we will track you like we did ever since the Charlie Hebdo attack.

So, expect a massive reaction from Anonymous. Know that we will find you and we’ll stop at nothing. We will launch the most important operation that’s ever been made against you. Expect numerous cyberattacks. War has been triggered, prepare yourselves. Know this, the French people are stronger than anything and they’ll come back from this atrocity even stronger.

We offer our condolences to the families of victims. We are Anonymous, we are legion, we don’t forgive, we don’t forget. Expect us."

Isis France