The hacker collective goes after the repressive Iranian regime, doing the US government a favor. Looks like President Obama owes Anonymous a shout-out.
Anonymous launched Operation Iran several months ago. Today, 10,365 “top secret” emails from the autocratic regime were made public after Anonymous hacked Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs some time around May 30th.
First question that must be asked: What is going on here? It almost seems as if Anonymous just pulled a freelance job for the U.S. government. However, it’s more likely that despite Anonymous’ clear objective to cause damage to the Iranian regime, making top secret Iranian emails public has the secondary effect of making U.S. intelligence services look bad (even if the intel isn’t ultimately of the best quality).
Right now, the latter scenario seems to be the case. However, from Iran’s perspective it will certainly seem as if Anonymous were a CIA front. This, after all, is a country with a leader who buys into the peculiar realm of conspiracy theory known as Holocaust denialism.
What is the substance of the 10,365 “top secret” emails Anonymous stole from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Visa applications for an “oil meeting,” with many of them coming from China. This, of course, opens up an entirely new dimension to the cyber attack. China, as with any country, doesn’t like its secrets revealed to foreigners, but we also know China is quite aggressive when it comes to hiding information from its own people. This certainly won’t help their standing in the world, even though it’s known that China is Iran’s single biggest trading partner and investor in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
Iran, of course, has been trying to cover up the hack over the last few days and it seems that Anonymous will be continuing their efforts against the regime. It’s part of a larger effort aimed at shutting down government websites in autocratic regimes in North Africa and the Middle East.
Regardless of one’s personal opinion of Anonymous, the hacker collective did strike at one of the worst offenders of free speech and free information in the world.
June 03, 2011 at 8:06 pm, Gro Spot said:
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June 07, 2011 at 6:02 am, ODkush said:
i think if anonymous could do it the united states government probably figured out how a lot earlier and just did not make them public
June 07, 2011 at 5:03 pm, Very Torgy said:
This exactly. Just because the government hasn’t told everyone that they’ve done this doesn’t mean that they haven’t already done this.
June 07, 2011 at 6:11 am, Jar Sqwuid said:
Oh lord.
June 07, 2011 at 6:11 am, Jar Sqwuid said:
Oh lord.
June 07, 2011 at 6:51 am, Paul Kamenitsky said:
why am i not surprised that people are confused at Anonymous doing something the US government doesn’t hate, overlooking completely that Anonymous is chaotic-neutral and has never been for or against the US government.
June 07, 2011 at 2:52 pm, D. J. said:
If you’d carefully read what I wrote, I didn’t accuse Anonymous of being for or against the United States. I said they didn’t pull a job for US intelligence but that the hack had the consequence of making the US intelligence look a bit like fools. Whether US intelligence cares or not is another story. And it’s likely that US intelligence has hacked Iran before, maybe they even hacked the same emails for all we know.
June 08, 2011 at 8:24 am, AJ said:
im not getting why it makes them look like fools. if the us gov alphabet co’s had hacked them then surely tehy wouldnt announce to the world thus making a declaration of war.
June 08, 2011 at 8:22 am, Mvn Kie said:
Who is confused? You’re the first person to mention confusion with regards to what has gone down.
June 09, 2011 at 10:25 am, Anonymail said:
you know nothing of Anonymous
June 09, 2011 at 5:58 pm, Anonymous said:
Considering that Anon just waged war on the International bankers that own the united states..
I think its highly unlikely.
Google A99
July 28, 2011 at 4:19 pm, Kevin Miles James Gallagher said:
You are incorrect. Members of anonymous are individuals and they can’t be so easily defined.
The bigger issue here is the system. It isn’t the government that needs taking down, it’s the system that needs changing, being for or against ‘government’ doesn’t make a difference to wanting to fix the world. It’s all just sock-puppetry.
June 07, 2011 at 6:51 am, Paul Kamenitsky said:
why am i not surprised that people are confused at Anonymous doing something the US government doesn’t hate, overlooking completely that Anonymous is chaotic-neutral and has never been for or against the US government.
June 07, 2011 at 8:16 am, Esbmike1459 said:
if this reporting is accurate, then anonymous is coming out of its puberty, and realizing that they have great potential. so far they have targeted, realistically, sources that are worth targeting, although sometimes letting revenge get in the way of the higher goal. i dont know their inner workings, but im hoping that the other things they did, which i dont necessarily disagree with either, were of utmost importance and not just showing off. either way… legit. i also feel however, even though they did quite a legit hit… that the US gov might not feel so great about it. i can hear their argument already….. that the us was already onto it, blah blah blah, you compromised our source blah blah. although the truth is just the truth. these unknowns, have taken their time to do what is for the good of the world. and for that, they deserve a high five. keep fighting the good fight friends.
June 10, 2011 at 7:51 am, Loulou8 said:
Seriously.. us shud keep their nose out of irans business. Good of the world my bollox. They shud find their own oil. If they kept to them selves in the 1st place they wudn be fighting with the middle east. Think its all over because the prince died, no, it never will be..their sons and the sons of their sons will seek revenge until their generation dies off.
And anonymous speculators, no point in second guessing what they did it for, or the consequences. Who cares, the east h8 the yanks and the yanks h8 the east, it wont change because of some stupid hack.
And the sony thing, well that was just mean, i miss COD, and stop putting easy hacks on the interwebs so kids can do them, its extremely irritating, if they really wanna do it let them learn themselves, isnt that the best way. Then they’ll get a good IT or Programmer job. Bitch bitch moan moan, r yea all really that bored!!
June 07, 2011 at 1:56 pm, Tomdtech said:
Probably right, the US intelligence services most likely already had hacked it. Anonymous releasing the emails just alerts Iran to the vulnerability and possibly closes that avenue for the intelligence services. Anonymous tends to be more self serving than anything else. They aren’t out of puberty, just spray painting graffiti on walls with no beneficial effect and leaving someone else to clean up their mess.
June 07, 2011 at 5:09 pm, C Duncan O'Connell said:
Believe it or not, US Intelligence probably did NOT hack these e-mails before Anonymous did. As far as I’ve ever heard, no self-respecting hacker would ever knowingly work for any government, so US Intelligence has to cope with second and third rate people on their “digital task force”. Anonymous is probably the largest and best collection of real hackers in the world.
June 07, 2011 at 5:56 pm, Dummy said:
Hackers don’t generally have an ethos that requires them to behave in certain ways. They are just like everyone else. If they get offered a career doing what they love, as well as certain immunities to enjoy while doing it, I can’t think of many HUMANS that wouldn’t seriously consider a position working for the government (especially if it is their own country). You really subscribe to a beautiful idea of what hackers are, but it is very naive of you. Hackers are just people, and they have to make a living too.
June 13, 2011 at 6:20 pm, Simon said:
You sir clearly don’t know what you are talking about. Anonymous is barely a collection of hackers per se, more of a “group”, (really like a collective of individuals who sometimes operate under that name) of script kiddies and bored teenagers. What you read about in the news is only the elite tip of the iceberg, legit hackers simply calling themselves Anonymous for that job. Without exaggeration, im confident 99% of people who identify themselves as Anonymous have never done anything more complicated than a LOICing
June 19, 2011 at 7:39 pm, C Duncan O'Connell said:
Anonymous, by it’s very nature, is, well, anonymous. You’ll notice I never said that any if it’s “members” are a permanent part of it. What I did say was that it is a collection of hackers that I am fairly sure can (and probably does) blow the US government’s computer guys out of the water with ease.
June 07, 2011 at 5:39 pm, Larrsz said:
whoo look at me! i have mature opinions on anonymussy!
June 07, 2011 at 5:36 pm, Larrsz said:
man if i came at your door and i said “knock knock”, and if then you said “who’s there?” whereupon i would have answered “i’m anonymous”, then would you suck my dick? or at least lick my ass? or are you just a 13-year-old adhd kid who just discovered 4chan?
June 08, 2011 at 2:26 am, Anonymous said:
You sir make no sense.
June 09, 2011 at 4:19 pm, anon said:
and that is anonymous
June 07, 2011 at 5:36 pm, Larrsz said:
man if i came at your door and i said “knock knock”, and if then you said “who’s there?” whereupon i would have answered “i’m anonymous”, then would you suck my dick? or at least lick my ass? or are you just a 13-year-old adhd kid who just discovered 4chan?
June 08, 2011 at 5:25 am, Anonymous said:
Why is the assumption that anonymous is a collective group of genius hackers? It is safe to say that the vast majority of 4chan users don’t even know their way around their own computer. Some of the elite few just seem to be very good at what they do.
This could also be some sort of consolation for the Sony hacks, something that a self respecting Anon would never do. Anonymous is chaotic-neutral, no leader, no set of rules, etc. However, there is a set of ideals. Many of these ideals involve laughter at the expense of others, but none of them entail personal profit, it is without a doubt frowned upon by the community as a whole.
This hack is a good example of what Anon is all about, pissing off as many parties as possible, while still retaining the last laugh.
June 08, 2011 at 8:32 am, Mvn Kie said:
‘Consolation for the Sony hacks’?
What the hell are you talking about? Are you suggesting that some how this is an attempt by ‘self respecting Anons’ to make up for an attack that it is unclear or even implied that Anonymous is behind in the first place?
Please, either learn to communicate clearly and consider what you’re saying before subjecting teh interwebs to your idiocy, or relegate yourself to some random engrish forum until you get your English dynamics and conjugation up to par.
I studied French for years in school, but I’m not about to make an attempt at political commentary based on unsubstantiated claims or random ideas with regards to their actions, let alone in their native tongue.
June 08, 2011 at 7:14 pm, RevolutionRequired said:
I wish they would go after the bankers. They are funding all of these tyrant puppet governments.
google revolutionrequired
June 09, 2011 at 6:10 pm, Anonymous said:
Anon has declared war against them. Google A99
June 08, 2011 at 11:19 pm, Anonymous said:
One must also remember that with Anon having no structured leadership and it being just a collective swarm of individuals, that the possibility of an outside organization being able to impersonate an Anon attack is very plausible.
We’ve seen what happens when we have irrational faith in Religions..
Lets not make the same mistake with the same irrational faith in Governments.
It has already been widely speculated that the United States government would begin making staged cyber attacks to promote an agenda that enforces additional restrictions and means of cyber control and oppression onto the people.
Attack and blame someone else.. Convince everyone that they need protection from the attacks they created then use the fear generated to manipulate and abolish the right and freedoms of those gullible enough to believe it.
I wonder that the internet version of the TSA is going to be like? Are we going to be molested before being able to access the web?
Just food for thought.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 1:58 pm, D. J. said:
Yes, I’ve considered that the US government might attempt a hack and blame it on hackers, but I didn’t consider it with Anonymous.
Very interesting thoughts, though, atwas911.
June 09, 2011 at 2:53 pm, incognito said:
oh you guys make me proud.
June 09, 2011 at 2:53 pm, incognito said:
oh you guys make me proud.
June 10, 2011 at 6:40 am, Natasha said:
Here’s a nice video about Anonymous by the Extra Credit people over at Escapist Magazine… It’s about the Sony hack and whether or not Anonymous did it, but it also seems to outline them somewhat. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/3350-Anonymous Enjoy, those people are pretty good at what they do.
June 13, 2011 at 4:03 pm, fajas colombianas said:
Recently, suspected anon’s were caught based on yahoo news.
June 16, 2011 at 4:50 am, Verse Infinitum said:
I find this rather interesting because we must ask ourselves; Why does it take hacking activities such as Anonymous and information access experts such as Wikileaks to reveal startling news, which was fiercely denied, only to be admitted when the facts were revealed? Not to mention why our mainstream media failed to address such issues that were addressed by Anonymous, Wikileaks, Alex Jones, Jessie Ventura, The Oath Keepers and a few others who risked their lives in the process? You may have to ask yourself; Would obtaining vital information for the general public’s benefit be a crime? Perhaps, but would hiding vital information from the general public be a crime of its own…especially if it would benefit us to understand? When we answer such question we would learn why Anonymous, Wikileaks and many others exist in the first place.
June 19, 2011 at 5:40 am, Jason Insertlaastnaamehere said:
how do they know that the cia didnt get into their emails as well.
June 20, 2011 at 9:07 am, Keeper Of Orchards said:
classic!
June 23, 2011 at 1:48 am, Steven William Rice said:
They have the same basic ideas as America. The only reason that they act differently is because they saw the greed and corruption in America and didn’t want it in their country. Neither Iran nor America is right and neither of them is free. As long as the monetary system still enslaves mankind, these petty wars for profit will continue to confuse the judgment of the people because that’s what’s most beneficial to America
July 27, 2011 at 8:44 am, Web Design said:
Well, at least they’re not wasting time trolling Sony anymore.
July 28, 2011 at 4:15 pm, Kevin Miles James Gallagher said:
I’m not surprised to hear that anonymous is releasing information from outside of America. Anonymous is comprised of members from around the entire world, so it makes sense that they fight for the freedoms of ALL the people, not just a few.
August 06, 2011 at 6:43 am, iolite said:
It’s time someone did something that causes change, regardless of whether it comes across as bad at first.
August 06, 2011 at 6:45 am, psoriasis treatments said:
china is NOT happy about this lol. Good.