Anonops #13: Stop CISPA

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Sun Shine Coast Website Hacked and Defaced by Anonymous for #OpAustralia

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If your an Australian or living/staying here you may of heard about the proposed new laws that may allows intelligence agencies to monitor and watch all forms of electronic communications.

Well Anonymous hacktivist located within Australia have got angry about this and as a result they have started a all new operation that is aimed right at the Australian government. The Operation today has been attacking one particular site in which the administration were restoring it within minutes of the deface but now it appears to be re-defaced and from what we heard it should be staying that way for some time.

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Hacker Arrested for 2008 DDoS Attacks on Amazon.com

A 25-year-old Russian hacker has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating two DDoS (Denial-of-Service) attacks on Amazon.com and eBay in 2008.

"Cyber bandit" Dmitry Olegovich Zubakha was indicted in 2011, but he was just arrested in Cyprus on Wednesday. Zubakha was arrested on an international warrant and is currently in custody pending extradition to the United States.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday, Zubakha, with the help of another Russian hacker, planned and executed DDoS attacks against Amazon.com, eBay, and Priceline in June 2008. Zubakha and his co-conspirator launched the attack by programming botnet computers to request "large and resource intensive web pages." According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the attacks made it "difficult for Amazon customers to complete their business on line."

Zubakha and his friend claimed credit for the attacks on online hacker forums, and law enforcement traced 28,000 stolen credit card numbers to the pair in 2009. For that reason, Zubakha and his partner are also charged with aggravated identity theft for illegally using the credit card of at least one person.

"These cyber bandits do serious harm to our businesses and their customers," said U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan in a statement. "But the old adage is true: the arm of the law is long. This defendant could not hide in cyberspace, and I congratulate the international law enforcement agencies who tracked him down and made this arrest."

At present, the charges in the indictment -- conspiracy, intentionally causing damage toa protected computer resulting in a loss of more than $5000, possession of more than 15 unauthorized access devices (credit card numbers), and aggravated identity theft -- are just allegations. Zubakha faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy, up to teh years in prison and a $250,000 fine for intentionally causing damage to a protected computer, up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possessing unauthorized access devices, and an additional two years in prison (on top of any other sentence) for aggravated identity theft.

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RedHack: In Their Own Words

TURKEY’S OWN WIKILEAKS, REDHACK, have barely been out of the headlines since the year began. Although formed in 1997, the socialist hacktivists and their declaration to be the “voice of the oppressed”, only caught the glare of the Turkish media just over four months ago.

At the tail end of February, the Hürriyet Daily News revealed that a little-known “left-wing Turkish group” had successfully hacked servers belonging to the Ankara Police Dept. What followed was not just a leak of “informants” held on police databases. but also the embarrassing revelation that police in the nation’s capital used “123456” as their “secret” password.

From there on in, the high-profile hacks have kept on coming. To date, the list of their online victims includes controversial Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen; the Turkish Armed Forces; milk production firms implemented in the poisoning of hundreds of school children; a national religious newspaper; as well as government ministries for the Interior, the Family, and, most recently, of Foreign Affairs.

With the latest news that an inceasingly irate special prosecutor is threatening to have the media-savvy hacktivists re-designated as “terrorists”, İ.D. thought it timely to to take a look behind the red masks of the men (and perhaps women) behind the headlines.



The following interview took place on 27 June, before the Foreign Ministry hack. Originally conducted in Turkish, TV host-producer-journalist Hıdır Geviş asked and fielded questions to RedHack over 20 minutes on Twitter. Published in full on GazeteVatan.com the following day, here it is in English courtesy of — and many thanks to — the İ.D. translation dept. (all women):

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Dahabshiil denies Anonymous behind cyber-attack

DAHABSHIIL, the international funds transfer company based in the Middle East, says Anonymous was not responsible for the attack on its banking systems.

A group claiming to be Anonymous published thousands of account numbers, names and details online and threatened it would commit "global internet destruction" if Dahabshiil did not publicly confess to aiding terrorism.

The hackers claimed it had installed "cyber bombs" within financial institutions around the world and threatened to trigger them if the Dahabshiil did not confess within two months.

However, Dahabshiil told News.com.au: "Following our initial investigation into the cyber-attack, we now believe that earlier reports attributing the action to a particular protest group were inaccurate and exaggerated."

It said it was not in a position yet to verify the identity of the individuals behind the hack.

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"Naturally we will keep all customers fully updated."

"Safeguarding our customers is of paramount importance to Dahabshiil and we will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that we identify those responsible.

Dahabshiil said that it "places the highest importance on its compliance procedures and has policies in place which are approved by the relevant authorities, including the FSA in the UK".

The hackers claiming responsibility for the attack posted documents on Google Plus highlighting associations with other banking networks including Barclay's in the UK and Ernst & Young in the US.

Passport pictures, banking transactions and other documents were also posted online.

The hackers posted a statement on tech blog, Slashdot, in which it declared an "official war on terror".

The group said the bank had two months to come forward or expect a "global internet destruction".

"if you want us to immediately stop this cyber-sabotage, it's quite easy," they wrote.

"We just ask you to stop lying, to recognise your help with Somaliaterror, and to officially change your behavior.

"We need a public message from you, as a proof.

"This is a call for actions of monitoring and/or destruction of companies and institutions that do work with terrorists, rogue countries, etc."

The attackers said that WikiLeaks documents had revealed the Dahabshiil bank had provided direct financial support to al-Qaeda, Al Wafa and other terrorist organisations. It posted documents on Google plus that highlighted associations with other banking networks including Barclay's in the UK and Ernst & Young in theUS.

They claimed to have stolen documents from and destroyed "work stations" in Australia, Kenya, USA, UK,Sweden, Somalia and Dubai. It also said it had hidden "cyber-bombs" in banking networks around the world and that it has attacked routers, firewalls and satellites that would protect banking systems from protecting financial networks.

The hackers signed off the statement with their slogan "we are Anonymous, we are legion".

Dahabshiil initially condemned Anonymous for claiming to breach "the privacy of hardworking, responsible individuals", and wholeheartedly denied the allegations.

"The claims from Anonymous that connections exist between our business and known terrorist organisations are quite simply wrong," a spokesperson told News.com.au.

"We have never been the subject of any investigation in relation to alleged terrorist funding and we have no involvement whatsoever with money laundering or the funding of terrorist organisations.

"Consequently, we call on Anonymous to withdraw its untrue allegations immediately.

"Dahabshiil places the highest importance on its compliance procedures and has extensive anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing policies in place which are approved by the relevant regulators, including the FSA in the UK.

"All staff receive extensive and continuous training in this regard.

"We have started a thorough investigation of Anonymous’ attack and will keep all customers fully updated.

"Safeguarding our customers’ funds is of paramount importance to Dahabshiil. We will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities as we proceed."

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Anonymous Launches "Operation Anaheim"

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What's already been four days of street protests in Anaheim, the like of which the county hasn't seen since the 1960s (when black and brown united to beat up cops in SanTana), is just about to turn a whole lot more interesting.

Last night, Anonymous declared their interest in what's going in the city following the shooting deaths by police of via video...and they're not happy.

Roll the tape!

Anonymous ANAHEIM NEEDS YOUR HELP!

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From cyber vigilantes to corporate thugs: Anonymous back up employers in union conflict

The owners of Restaurant Vejlegaarden in Vejle in Denmark have received support from an unlikely quarter as hackers from across the world have organised to attack the restaurant's opponents in a union conflict.

3F, a Danish trade union confederation have been in conflict with the restaurant since the restaurant decided to cancel their agreement with 3F late last year. Instead the restaurant have made an agreement with Krifa (Christian Trade Union), a so called yellow union, that has lower membership dues, but refuses to take part in industrial action. This means that wages for workers organised in Krifa are lower than those for workers organised in 3F.

In response, 3F have mounted pickets outside the restaurant and stopped deliveries to the restaurant from the restaurant's normal suppliers. Support from other unions has meant that the restaurant will not receive any post while the conflict is ongoing and only rubbish can be collected from the restaurant.

The struggle has received large-scale coverage in the press and a series of rightwing politicians have made a point of eating at the restaurant to mark their support for the management.

However, it was 3F's recent threat to launch a sympathy strike in the printing house of a local newspaper which carries the restaurant's adverts which caused Anonymous to get involved.

A video posted on YouTube on 20th July by AnonDK declared war on 3F for attacking the restaurant's right to freedom of speech and declared the union's "carbon based class struggle" to be old fashioned and irrelevant.

Over the weekend, supporters of the action participated in Distributed Denial of Service attacks which caused the union's website and IT systems to be taken offline for several days. This has had serious consequences for 30,000 union members who needed to use the system to receive their unemployment insurance. Because of the attacks, these payments will be delayed by several days at least. The attacks have since spread to the websites of the national trade union confederation, LO, the Social Democratic party and their youth wing underscoring the political nature of the actions.

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Basically, now a group calling themselves Anonymous Denmark have put out this video criticising these hackers, saying they are not really Anonymous and having a go at them for supporting capitalist interests (or so I gather not understanding any Danish):

Anonymous - 3F

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AAPT confirms data breach as Anonymous claims attack

AAPT has confirmed that it has been breached, following claims by an Australian sect of Anonymous that it has broken into and stolen 40GB of data from the major Australian internet service provider (ISP).

Anonymous Australia was meant to release a sample of stolen data last night in order to prove that it was able to infiltrate the target's systems. However, the effort required to strip out personally identifiable information from the data, as well as some logistical issues, prevented the group from releasing it.

AAPT CEO David Yuile said that last night, at 9.30pm AEST, Melbourne IT alerted AAPT that there had been a breach of security and unauthorised access to AAPT's business customer data on its servers. Early this morning, an unverified member of Anonymous Australia hinted that AAPT was the target of an attack.

Yuile said that AAPT immediately asked Melbourne IT to shut down the affected servers. The company is now conducting an investigation into the incident, with Melbourne IT to determine what has been compromised, how the attackers gained access and what additional security measures are required.

"Preliminary findings suggest it was two files that were compromised, and the data is historic, with limited personal customer information. Further, the servers on which the files were stored have not been used or connected to AAPT for at least 12 months," Yuile said in a statement.

"AAPT is extremely concerned about this incident, and is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. AAPT will be contacting any impacted customers as soon as possible."

Members from Anonymous Australia said that they will leak the stolen data on Sunday, but emphasised that they would not leak personal data. ZDNet Australia understands that the group estimates that the removal of personal data would bring the total amount of leaked data down from 40GB to between 30GB and 35GB.

The group launched the attack to demonstrate that if a large ISP such as AAPT is unable to keep its own data secure, it would be unable to keep Australians' data secure under a data-retention scheme, which the government has proposed.

Breaching the ISP's systems was not a one-man task, according to the group, with several people working on the attack. Despite the high-profile target, the group said it is not worried about being caught, and believes that it is safe and secure.

ZDNet Australia understands that the group is also planning to take action against members of parliament, pooling together information on key politicians into a planning document that ZDNet Australia has sighted. The information gathered by the group so far is limited, but includes details on how Julia Gillard likes her coffee and the personal address of one politician's relative. The document contains a disclaimer that it is a "collaborative fiction book writing project", but a cursory search reveals that much of the information is publicly available and accurate.

Other details contained in the planning document include tasks that are still to be carried out by the group, including researching union representatives who backed Gillard for the leadership battle; setting up a LinkedIn account to accrue information about Gillard's support and public relations staff; and researching the personal details of Gillard's family, friends, enemies and sexual history.

The group is also considering making its own submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security over the committee's inquiry into a potential reform of Australia's national security legislation, which contains the data-retention proposal. Anonymous will have up to 20 August to make a submission.

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Assad vs Anonymous

The Syrian regime is waging an uphill battle that is expressed also in an online war against hackers supporting the rebels

The online warfare against the Syrian regime has been taken up a notch. Alongside an increase in the physical warfare, the battles reaching into the heart of the capital, Damascus, the elimination of the most senior members of the regime and the continuing desertions, over the past two weeks, we have seen an increase in the offensive activities against Syria in the online arena as well.

Wikileaks activists have broken into senior Syrian officials' computers and published 2.4 million email correspondences. If the elimination of senior members of the Syrian regime was a step up in the physical struggle against Assad's administration, over the past two days there has been a similar increase in the online arena, expressed by direct offensive activity by 'Anonymous' activists against the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).

These are hackers who act in an organised fashion online against opposition activists and Arab media networks that cover the events in the country in a skewed way, in their eyes. Their activity is most often characterized by breaking into websites and by leaving messages on them, condemning the rebels and in favour of the Syrian regime. It is quite possible that they are acting under the guidance of the Syrian regime.

On 8 July, a video clip by Anonymous was published, containing a warning to the Syrian regime, following its military action against the citizens of the state and an accusation regarding its support of the SEA. The message said that Anonymous activists had decided to destroy Syria's and the organisation's online activity following the West's failure to defend the country's citizens.

On 16 July the SEA published a video in reply (in the exact same length and other characteristics), addressing Anonymous for provoking the organization and claiming that despite its repeated threats, none of them has been carried out so far. In addition, they claimed that they are not a virtual army, but a real army that cannot be stopped, while citing incidents in which they, allegedly, hacked into various Anonymous websites. Around half of the video clip is dedicated to showing various articles about an attack that was carried out on an Anonymous website.

Anonymous was quick to reply. Following the publication of the video, a DDoS attack began on the website of the SEA. The attack was first announced on media channels, belonging to Anonymous. In response, the SEA declared, in a direct communication to Anonymous, that the attack had been carried out by amateurs, via a direct dialogue through Twitter in a number or messages.

At the same time, the Syrian organisation began its own online attack against one of Anonymous' websites (AnonPlus), while announcing that it had succeeded in obtaining personal information of 700 Anonymous activists in Holland that was uploaded and published on the internet (the original file was erased from the server and uploaded again by the Syrians at its current address). The next step was the publication of yet another video by Anonymous on the 17th, aimed directly against the SEA.

Since 18 July there has been a substantial escalation: there have been break-ins and websites have been shut down by both sides, with an emphasis on high-quality targets. After Al-Jazeera's Twitter account in English was hacked by the sea at the beginning of the month, the organisation has begun a wave of attacks that has been documented in its message on its website and Twitter account.

The massive attack by the SEA included breaking into Al-Jazeera's servers and publishing hundreds of user names and passwords of the Qatari television station's employees as well as publishing another file including over 11,000 email addresses and passwords of NATO supporters (it is possible that these were stolen in advance and published now). The next day, on 19 July, Anonymous activists published messages about an attack on Syrian government websites and took responsibility for the attacks.

The past days, especially since 18 July, have been a significant milestone in the online warfare in the Syrian arena. If until now Anonymous' activities had been aimed against the Syrian regime in general, they now include the Syrian Electronic Army, while communicating with it directly through text and video.

The Syrian organisation on its part has begun to escalate its activities and to break into websites, steal user identification information of thousands of users, who it considers to be enemies of the regime. Over the past two days there has been a quantitative and qualitative increase in activities of online attacks against Syria, as well as attacks by Syria against those who it considers to be its internal and external enemies. The uphill battle that is being waged by the Syrian regime, ever since the explosion that killed a number of its senior officials, is taking its toll in the online world as well, where we can see the Syrian regime firing "online shots in all directions".

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Nestle pulls Kit Kat mascot from Facebook due to Pedobear resemblance

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NSA wants to hire hackers

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LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney) -- Wearing a t-shirt and jeans, America's top spymaster -- National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander, also the head of the U.S. Cyber Command -- took the stage Friday at the nation's largest hacker convention to deliver a recruiting pitch.

"In this room, this room right here, is the talent our nation needs to secure cyberspace," Alexander told the standing-room-only audience at DefCon, a grassroots gathering in Las Vegas expected to draw a record 16,000 attendees this year. "We need great talent. We don't pay as high as everybody else, but we're fun to be around."

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"Sometimes you guys get a bad rep," Alexander said at one point. "From my perspective, what you're doing to figure out the vulnerabilities in our systems is absolutely needed."

"Then stop arresting us!" one of the hecklers called back.

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AnonPublicRelations Network

AnonPR NEW IRC Network

Greeting citizens and Anons of the world…

In this age, we live in a modern world where the majority of information is shared electronically. Every day some of the 2.1 billion worldwide Internet users transfer over 60 terabytes-per-second* of Information to each other.

This unbelievable amount of data is at the fingertips of anyone with access to the Internet and provides an international relationship between people who would otherwise never meet. Ideas are synthesized, secrets are revealed, and nations topple because of the amazing influence of the Internet in modern life. To say it clearly, the Internet is the most powerful information entity on the planet.

There is no other collection of works accessed by so many different people at such a high rate anywhere else in the world.
Recently, the Internet has provided a gateway for people to connect through social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and IRC; making regular Email dated to a certain extent. All of these centralized services are bombarded daily with information that is then disseminated to the public and the rest of the Internet-using world.

Services such as TOR and Project Freenet have sprung up to provide an alternative to conventional Internet resources that can be mandated by law to share personal information including the name, email and even location of their user-base.
These decentralized projects allow for the circulation of information while shielding their users from the prying eyes of governments, law enforcement agencies and countless other entities which wish to censor and monitor the Internet in order to protect their interests.

As the Anonymous phenomenon has gained momentum in the last few years, the Internet has become a way to spread knowledge, plans, and information that would otherwise be restricted to local communities and organizations. The data that is available to be shared, because of the Internet, has revolutionized activism and protesting in ways that traditional libraries would never have been able to. Now anyone with an Internet connection can explore a cause and join the ranks of protesters worldwide.

Since then, bills such as ACTA, CISPA, FISA, NDRP and SOPA have sprung up in an attempt to censor the Internet. They come with a thin veil of disinformation to hide their true purpose; they are labeled “Anti Piracy”, “Counter Terrorism”, or “National Security” policies. Each time they are slightly more successful, but eventually they are stopped by international forces such as Anonymous and organized groups with similar ideals

“Let your voice be heard. Together, acting as one, we can work towards a better tomorrow.”

We here at AnonPR encourage you to look into the current state of censorship in your country and see what you can do to ensure that you will always be able to access anything and everything. Together we can fight against the possibility of censorship and prove all governments that the Internet, as well as its ability to connect the citizens of the world, is necessary in Modern Society.

What are these governments trying to prove?
What are they trying to hide?
Who or what are they protecting?

We are now declaring the Internet an entity without borders. We will not bow to the whims of any political organization. We will not bow to your governments.
To the governments of this world. We reject your unjust laws.
These governments that lie, that side with vested interests and neglect the people. These governments that wish to control information and censor dissent. These are not the people to be trusted with the gift of the Internet.

Where The Media Can’t Twist Our Words — AnonPR.

The AnonPR Team is growing on a daily basis, from writers to researchers to graphics and audio design. If you feel and want to make a change, if you see the corruption of your governments, if you want to make the world a better place, join us!
This network is open to the public, to Anons and non Anons from all aspects of the globe.

A nest, a home for productive and constructive
Together we can make a difference. Together we can make a change! Free from the media we can shed light on the corruptions in our world. We can free people from tyranny.

From the AnonPR Team, Stay Classy Internet!

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us

Server: irc.anonpr.net
Port: 6667 (unsecured) or 6697 (secure/SSL)
Main Channels: #AnonPR , #PublicRelations
http://irc.lc/irc.anonpr.net
http://anonpr.net/index.php/anonpr-network/

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A French company deposits the logo and motto Anonymous

This is what is called taking risks. A French company, Early Flicker, filed the logo and the motto of Anonymous, a movement that brings together supporters of Internet anonymity and the freedom of Internet users , with the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property). The requests, filed February 16, 2012 , were published March 9, 2012 and recorded on 8 and June 22, 2012.

Who filed the logo and motto of Anonymous?

To believe the products it sells on the net , Early Flicker is specialized in making T-shirts printed. This same company under the name of "eflicker" also seems to be a web development agency , which offers services in site design or Internet marketing ... Both entities are domiciled at the same address, 27 rue Jean Giraudoux in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris . On directories of companies , "eflicker" is a trade name of Early Flicker.

That the company will commercialier?

Contacted by mail and telephone calls, the company did not respond. Therefore difficult to learn more about its intentions and commercial projects. The fact is that the filing of a trademark with the INPI for the three "classes" 18, 21 and 25 (note: product category ): leather and imitation leather, trunks and suitcases, umbrellas and parasols, wallets, beach, pet collars and clothing, utensils and containers for household or kitchen, brushes, china, porcelain, dishes, clothes, shoes, shirts, gloves, underwear and many more ... In short, everything is pretty much capable of imagining products in drifts.

Star Wars Episode IV - Han Solo has a bad feeling

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AnonymousIRC twitterde op woensdag 01-08-2012 om 16:34:18 Going back to Defcon 2: #ACTA has passed in the Japanese Upper House, not yet the lower house. Possibly it can be stopped. #Anonymous HELP! reageer retweet

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Internet avengers track down mean-spirited hacker

A group of internet "hactivists" has hunted down and handed over a hacker who destroyed a Kiwi website which raises funds to help feed hungry children.

Documentary-maker Bryan Bruce discovered his website Redsky Film and Television had been hacked on Saturday. A message appeared on the site to say it had been hacked by "@AnonVoldemort".

He posted a message on a Facebook page connected to his site, asking internet users to help fix the problem and find the hacker.

He never expected the Anonymous group of hackers to help.

The group was earlier this year involved in protests against the closure of Kim Dotcom's Megaupload filesharing website.

Websites including the FBI, Universal Music and Recording Industry Association of America were taken "offline" by the Anonymous group hours after Megaupload was closed down.

Mr Bruce told the Herald he did not know exactly who had helped him - or how - but within a day he had an email with the details of the hacker, believed to be a 35-year-old man living in Madrid with his mother.

He has passed the information on to police in Spain and is waiting for their response.

The website included a store where copies of Mr Bruce's documentaries could be bought, including the award-winning Inside Child Poverty - A Special Report. He donates all sales from that DVD and a percentage from others to a charity that provides breakfasts for hungry schoolchildren.

As a result of the hacking, the website will now be out of action for at least a month and it will cost a significant amount of money to get it working again.

"In bringing down the site he was bringing down a charity, basically," Mr Bruce said.

"I posted on Facebook 'can anybody help me with this' because I don't understand how all this hacking stuff works. It's beyond me.

"Two or three people picked it up and, as I understand, they contacted some top hackers in a group called Anonymous."

Mr Bruce was told that hackers had a code of conduct and Anonymous was upset by what had happened to his site.

"Apparently, one of the rules is you don't hack charity sites, you don't hack sites of people trying to help kids. This guy was trying to impress them, to try and get into their group and boasting about what he'd done - but they turned on him, they chased him."

Mr Bruce said it was good to see Anonymous doing the right thing.

"This is the other side of this group. I'm not going to make comment about what they do in other areas, but this was a real Robin Hood thing. They just decided this was not good. It's extraordinary."

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Anonymous Hacks IRS Database — Publishes Romney Tax Returns

Late last night, the mysterious group of hackers known as Anonymous successfully hacked the main database for the Internal Revenue Service. The group appeared to have a singular target- Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Romney has been criticized by both parties for his failure to produce more than one past tax return. According to Ann Romney on ABC’s “Good Morning America” they had no intention of ever disclosing the contents on those returns: “We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life”. Anonymous however, seems to have thought that we “the people” might want to know a little more about the man who seeks the White House.

The Anonymous attack successfully retrieved 25-years worth of Romney’s tax returns and published them without permission on major websites throughout the Internet. The majority of these websites removed the returns within minutes, however it was too late to completely protect the candidate’s already tainted image. We at Free Wood Post were able to examine Romney’s 2008 tax return and found that he had good reason to fear its release. The 2008 return paints a picture of an extraordinarily wealthy man, whose low tax rate and bizarre itemized deductions will surely raise many questions as to his suitability to be President.

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul stated last week that “there has been no year in which Romney paid zero taxes”. In 2008, this was true. He earned $23,425,316 and paid $412.18 in federal income taxes. This calculates to a federal tax rate of 0.0018%. How did Romney get his tax burden so low? According to his return, he had approximately $23,407,000 in itemized deductions. These deductions ranged from $78,923 for “Toupee Creators Unlimited” and $41,826 for “Spray-on tan services” to a $3.8 million dollar write-off for a trip to Las Vegas with potential campaign donors. The Romney family also paid salaries to their numerous employees including, two yacht captains, three pilots for their private jets, two professional dog walkers, one toupee stylist and a “live-in contortionist”. What someone does with a live-in contortionist, one can only speculate. However, the $891,064 Romney spent on an “EWS Donor Party at the Pennsylvania Mansion” might give us a clue. While the return does not indicate what “EWS” stands for, given that the deducted supplies for the party included “Venetian masks, alcohol, lubricant and various Egyptian leather accessories” it was most likely an “Eyes Wide Shut” party.

In addition to his wild nights, Romney also deducted health related expenses. These included $127,000 for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for a condition termed “Pseudologia fantastica” also known as Compulsive Liar Syndrome. This may explain why the Republican nominee’s views seem to change dramatically depending on his audience. In fact, his recent string of political gaffes may be the direct result of his inability to keep up with the many competing “truths” he has spoken over the past year. According to noted Psychiatrist Bryan King, “Pathological liars seem utterly sincere about their lies, but if confronted with facts to the contrary, will often just as sincerely reverse their story.” According to Politifact, a news organization that researches the veracity of politician’s statements, only 16% of Romney’s examined statements were found to be completely true.

While the 2008 tax return only gives us a brief glimpse into the life of Mitt Romney, it is unlikely that the other 24 years would have given us his complete financial picture. Given that Romney has several secret tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and until recently Switzerland, we will likely never know the extent of his holdings or of the other unorthodox appetites he quenches with that money. However, the Anonymous hack did succeed in giving Americans a better understanding of the Republican candidate.

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Op donderdag 2 augustus 2012 11:13 schreef _dirkjan_ het volgende:

[..]

Die website is satirisch, net als De Speld.

Anonymous: Operation AnonTrademark (#OpAnonTrademark) [ENGLISH]

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

twitter:

DefconDroelf twitterde op donderdag 02-08-2012 om 21:54:58 And another win for #Anonymous. A. Auffret will drop the Trademark and will work together with Anonymous France on CC. #OpAnonTrademark reageer retweet

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Tegenslag voor Obama: senaat VS blokkeert cybercrimewet

Een wet die de Verenigde Staten moet beschermen tegen cyberaanvallen is vandaag door de Amerikaanse Senaat geblokkeerd. Dat is een tegenslag voor president Barack Obama. Hij waarschuwde onlangs nog voor de toenemende dreiging van cybercrime en riep de volksvertegenwoordigers op haast te maken met wetgeving.

De wet zou het mogelijk maken dat de regering en bedrijven informatie delen over aanvallen op hun computernetwerken en voorzag in de oprichting van een Nationale Cyberveiligheid Raad. 60 stemmen waren nodig om de wet te laten passeren, maar uiteindelijk stemden maar 52 senatoren voor. Daarmee is de kans zo goed als verkeken dat de door de Obama-regering gewenste maatregelen tegen cybercrime nog voor de presidentsverkiezingen in november van kracht worden.

Door de wet te blokkeren honoreerde de Senaat het maatschappelijk verzet tegen de wet van een gelegenheidscoalitie van internetactivisten en conservatieven. De eersten vreesden voor de privacy door spionage van de overheid, de conservatieven waarschuwden voor 'nog meer' bureaucratie.

Twee weken geleden stelde Obama in een opiniestuk in The Wall Street Journal dat er steeds meer cyberaanvallen zijn op onder meer computersystemen in de nucleaire en chemische industrie in de VS. 'Het zou het toppunt van onverantwoordelijkheid zijn om onze digitale achterdeur wijd open te houden voor onze cybervijanden', aldus Obama in het artikel.

Generaal en stafchef Martin Dempsey zei dat de wet hard nodig was voor de nationale verdediging van cruciale infrastructuur.

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Privacywaakhond alert op 'Facebook-politie'

De Ierse privacywaakhond Data Protection Commissioner heeft Facebook dringende vragen gesteld over haar wereldwijde 'politieagent-gedrag'. Dat meldt het Nederlandse College voor Bescherming Persoongegevens (CBP) vandaag.

Facebook kijkt namelijk mee bij chatgesprekken, commentaren en het toevoegen van vrienden. Als de site iets ontdekt wat op crimineel gedrag lijkt, geeft ze dat door aan de Amerikaanse autoriteiten.

'Aangezien de Europese hoofdvestiging van Facebook in Ierland zit, is de privacytoezichthouder in dat land hiermee bezig', laat een woordvoerder van het CBP weten. 'Die heeft al vragen gesteld aan Facebook en erop aangedrongen snel een antwoord te krijgen.' Binnenkort komt het onderwerp ook aan bod in de zogeheten Artikel 29-werkgroep, waarvoor alle Europese privacytoezichthouders bij elkaar komen. De club hoopt over enkele weken meer over te kunnen zeggen over de kwestie.

D66-Europarlementariër Sophie in 't Veld noemde het 'buitengewoon onwenselijk dat bedrijven 'politietje' gaan spelen. Daar hebben ze de bevoegdheid niet toe.'

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VS willen controle internet niet overhevelen naar VN

De Verenigde Staten zijn niet van plan de controle over het internet over te hevelen naar de Verenigde Naties. Op dit moment vallen deze bevoegdheden onder een aantal Amerikaanse non-profit organisaties die onder het Amerikaanse Ministerie van Handel vallen - en de VS willen dat zo houden. Dit om 'internetcensuur' te voorkomen.

Volgens de VS is het goed dat het beheer van van het intenet onder meerdere instanties valt. Bovendien functioneren de organisaties effectief, laat de Amerikaanse overheid weten. De uitspraken worden gedaan in een document dat vandaag wordt ingediend bij de International Telecommunication Union, onderdeel van de Verenigde Naties, vanwege een conferentie over de toekomst van het internet.

Opnieuw bekijken
Deze conferentie wordt in december in Dubai gehouden. Afgevaardigden van 178 landen zijn uitgenodigd om de International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR) opnieuw te bekijken. Hierin staat onder andere wie internetverkeer tussen het ene en het andere land voor zijn rekening moet nemen.

De richtlijnen zijn sinds 1988 niet meer veranderd, schrijft Tweakers. Aangezien het wereldwijde web toen nog niet eens bestand, is men het erover eens dat er een flinke update van de reglementen nodig is. Maar hoe ver deze moeten gaan strekken en wat erin komt te staan, zal nog tot hevige discussies kunnen gaan leiden.

Volgens de BBC willen sommige landen, waaronder Rusland, China en India dat de ITU het internet gaat 'monitoren'. De Verenigde Staten vrezen dat die plannen kunnen gaan leiden tot censuur. De ITU heeft aangegeven bestaande richtlijnen - alleen bij unanimiteit aan te passen.

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Statement from Jeremy Hammond.

23 July 2012 - Statement from Jeremy Hammond, alleged Anonymous hacker -

Thanks for everybody coming out in support! It is so good to know folks on the street got my back. Special thanks to those who have been sending books and letters, and to my amazing lawyers.

I remember maybe a few months before I was locked up I went to a few noise demonstrations a the federal jail MCC Chicago in support of all those locked up there. Prisoners moved in front of the windows, turned the lights on and off, and dropped playing cards through the cracks in the windows. I had no idea I would soon be in that same jail facing multiple trumped up computer hacking “conspiracies.”

Now at New York MCC, the other day I was playing chess when another prisoner excitedly cam e up as was like, “Yo, there are like 50 people outside the window and they are carrying banners with your name!” Sure enough, there you all were with lights, banners, and bucket drums just below our 11th floor window. Though you may not have been able to here us or see us, over one hundred of us in this unit saw you all and wanted to know who those people were, what they were about, rejuvenated knowing people on the outside got there back.

As prisoners in this police state – over 2.5 million of us – we are silenced, marginalized, exploited, forgotten, and dehumanized. First we are judged and sentenced by the “justice” system, then treated as second class citizens by mainstream society. But even the warden of MCC New York has in surprising honesty admitted that “the only difference between us officers here and you prisoners is we just haven’t been caught.”

The call us robbers and fraudsters when the big banks get billion dollar bailouts and kick us out of our homes.

They call us gun runners and drug dealers when pharmaceutical corporations and defense contractors profit from trafficking armaments and drugs on a far greater scale.

They call us “terrorists” when NATO and the US military murder millions of innocents around the world and employ drones and torture tactics.

And they call us cyber criminals when they themselves develop viruses to spy on and wage war against infrastructure and populations in other countries.

Yes, I am one of several dozen around the world accused of Anonymous-affiliated computer hacking charges.

One of many here at MCCC New York facing trumped up “conspiracy” charges based on the cooperation of government informants who will say anything and sell out anyone to save themselves.

And this jail is one of several thousand other jails, prisons, and immigrant detention centers – lockups which one day will be reduced to rubble and grass will grow between the cracks of the concrete.

So don’t let fear of imprisonment deter you from speaking up and fighting back. Silencing our movement is exactly what they hope to accomplish with these targeted, politically motivated prosecutions. They can try to stop a few of us but they can never stop us all.

Thanks again for coming out.

Keep bringing the ruckus!

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Leaked RIAA Report: SOPA/PIPA “Ineffective Tool” Against Music Piracy

Contrary to the endless lobbying and subsequent defending of the now-dead SOPA and PIPA frameworks, a leaked report shows that earlier this year the RIAA’s Deputy General Counsel admitted that the legislation was “not likely to have been effective tool” for dealing with music piracy. All efforts are now being put behind the “six strikes” plan – but could disconnections for repeat infringers still be on the agenda?

“These illicit sites are among the culprits behind the music industry’s more than 50 percent decline in revenues during the last decade, resulting in 15,000 layoffs and fewer resources to invest in new bands,” wrote RIAA CEO Cary Sherman in a New York Times piece last year.

“It should be unacceptable to any of us involved in legitimate commerce online that a rogue Web site based outside the United States — but hawking American products or copyrighted works — can currently escape our laws.”

SOPA and PIPA

Sherman was writing in support of the Stop Online Piracy and Protect IP acts, legislation that if passed would have removed infringing websites from the United States Internet. But quietly behind closed doors earlier this year one of the RIAA’s most senior lawyers admitted that the legislation would not have been effective against online piracy.

The revelation appeared in a presentation (pdf) made by RIAA Deputy General Counsel Victoria Sheckler to IFPI members in April 2012, part of which we covered yesterday in our report on how offline music swapping dominates that done online.

In a section detailing recent legal and policy developments, Sheckler said that after “opposition to bills, activated by Google, went viral,” SOPA and PIPA were “essentially dead.”

But rather than opposition staying focused on these pieces of legislation, the RIAA Deputy General Counsel admitted that dissent had spread, with “anti-SOPA sentiment in netizens
being used by opponents to oppose other copyright protection measures.”

Companies, Sheckler added, were now on “heightened alert” – an assertion confirmed by the recent Internet Bat Signal initiative.

But perhaps of most interest is the confession that even if they had passed, SOPA and PIPA would have been of little help to the music industry.

Sheckler notes that the legislation put forward an “important principle regarding intermediary responsibility,” a reference to ISPs being told to block “rogue” sites –
but then added the following: