The hacktivist group Anonymous is targeting Orlando's mayor and police force, bringing cyber-threats into the real-world as it flexes its digital muscles in the political arena.
In a twist to Anonymous' online activities, a supposed member of the group tweeted a picture of a Guy Fawkes mask dangling outside Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's home. The collective also posted a photo-shopped picture of two headless police officers to drive home Anonymous' disgust with the city's new law.
An ordinance now prohibits mass food distribution without a permit to the homeless at Orlando's Lake Eola Park. The charity, "Food Not Bombs," argues that law is useless since the permit remains valid for only two times per year.
Food Not Bombs, which has distributed free vegetarian meals to homeless people for 30 years, has had 25 volunteers arrested for continuing to pass out food in defiance of the law. Coming to their aid, Anonymous began Operation Orlando, a distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack on the city's governmental organizations.
"We will not allow Food Not Bombs volunteers to be silenced," the hacking group stated. "We will fight for their rights, and yours. The hacking will continue. Your city will lose money, time, and resources."
So far, Anonymous has brought down the mayor's campaign and Orlando police websites, insisting it will continue attacks until the city repeals the law. The group granted the city a 48-hour cease fire to rethink its policies, but began DDoS bombardments again after police arrested two more volunteers.
At first, it may seem strange that Anonymous, a worldwide, leaderless hacktivist group, is interested in the issue, but the hackers are attracted to political activities. The group says its mission is to campaign peacefully for "Freedom of Expression," which it alleges Orlando denies to those who would feed hungry people.
Anonymous has targeted several governments for political reasons. It first became famous when it hammered Visa, MasterCard and Amazon sites with DDoS attacks, due to their refusal to process WikiLeaks payments.
Then it took down official government websites of Malaysia, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt to protest those country's Internet restrictions.
The group also defended its own members, targeting Sony with attacks after the company took an Anon to court for posting instructions online about how to root the PlayStation 3. And when Spain arrested three members, the organization retaliated by hacking into its police website, much like it did to Arizona's and now Orlando's police department.
Anonymous also teamed up with the now defunct LulzSec hackers for Operation AntiSec, which targets governments and corporations that the group believes suppress free speech.
If today's attack is any indication, such hacks are sure to continue as long as Anonymous members are bent on Operation AntiSec.
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