We Are Winning Redux:
The HBGary leaks have not only vindicated our efforts, but have also proven a powerful precedent; that these monolithic institutions are not as unshakable as they once seemed. They have resorted to insane, immoral, and illegal techniques to eliminate the ‘threat’. The threat being nothing more than the truth and those who seek it. They fight the truth because they are scared of it. Scared that their castle of cards will soon collapse and that the power they have hoarded for so long will slip back into the hands of its rightful keepers, the people.
The Paranoia Boogie
The above statement was supposedly issued by Anonymous. I say supposedly since Anonymous has no membership list or hierarchy. There’s no proof that whoever said this was authorized to say it, because no one is authorized to say anything.
For that matter, there’s no proof that Anonymous really exists. There’s no proof that Anonymous hacked HBGary Federal’s email server. Anonymous couldn’t have hacked HBGary Federal’s email server – Anonymous doesn’t exist.
Possibly Aaron Barr was suffering from some sort of psychological break and hacked himself? Maybe all of the things that Anonymous is getting the blame for were really done by Aaron Barr…
Siriusly Though
Aaron Barr thought he was a star. Maybe he was a dog star. A White Dwarf.
He crashed and burned when he decided to take on Anonymous. He didn’t do his homework. He didn’t think.
And now it looks like everyone else is paying. Including some people who have a reputation for being pretty nasty, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Think Progress has a fascinating report titled EXCLUSIVE: US Chamber’s Lobbyists Solicited Hackers To Sabotage Unions, Smear Chamber’s Political Opponents. Totally fascinating. Did you wonder why Penny Leavy was so quick to say that someone had been faking HBGary Federal emails? Now we know why. She’s trying to cover for her customers, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce had this to say:
Feb 10 11More Baseless Attacks on the Chamber
We’re incredulous that anyone would attempt to associate such activities with the Chamber as we’ve seen today from the Center for American Progress. The security firm referenced by ThinkProgress was not hired by the Chamber or by anyone else on the Chamber’s behalf. We have never seen the document in question nor has it ever been discussed with us.
While ThinkProgress and the Center for American Progress continue to orchestrate a baseless smear campaign against the Chamber, we will continue to remain focused on promoting policies that create jobs.
It’s quite possible that Tom Collamore is telling the truth, or thinks that he’s telling the truth. After all, he’s only a Senior Vice President. It’s quite possible that the decision to hire HBGary was made above his level, like possibly by the President or one of the Executive Vice Presidents (list of the senior management of the Chamber of Commerce is here).
It’s quite possible. But damned unlikely. Someone would have had to put together the fake emails really quickly. Just think – someone cracked HBGary Federal’s email server some time during the Superbowl. The Superbowl started at 6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. But what time was the email Torrent uploaded to The Pirate Bay?
Note the time – 2:24 AM, Greenwich Mean Time on Monday, February 7. Translated, that’s 10:24 PM Sunday February 6, or less than four hours after the Superbowl started. And the break in occurred while the Superbowl was being played.
Now I’m going to ask you a simple question. How many emails could you fake in slightly less than four hours? And if you did try to fake a bunch of emails, would they be likely to take in a bunch of professional paranoiacs like Think Progress?
The answers are not very many, and very unlikely. Firedoglake has copies of the documents. They look real to me. Let’s be honest – it’s possible that these emails were faked. But in four hours?
At which point I’ll pass the rest of this post to those hilarious people who don’t exist. Anonymous, what do you have to say for yourself?
It has been said before and it will be said again:
We are winning. The HBGary leaks have not only vindicated our efforts, but have also proven a powerful precedent; that these monolithic institutions are not as unshakable as they once seemed. They have resorted to insane, immoral, and illegal techniques to eliminate the ‘threat’. The threat being nothing more than the truth and those who seek it. They fight the truth because they are scared of it. Scared that their castle of cards will soon collapse and that the power they have hoarded for so long will slip back into the hands of its rightful keepers, the people.
These leaks also prove that Anonymous is on the side of justice. The leaks show that our tactics pale in comparison to the shenanigans perpetrated by agents of corrupt organizations. Anonymous does not attack the media or journalists, Anonymous does not spread disinformation, nor does Anonymous illegally spy on activists with the intent of selling them out for a quick buck. We have shown that the Bank of America does all of this and more (on the tax payers dime, mind you). While BoA plots shady deals in back rooms, Anonymous openly invites everyone to join us in our efforts. The moral high ground is ours, Anakin.
As the antagonistic and deceitful acts perpetrated by HBGary and others come to light, they will only serve to embolden Anonymous, swell our ranks, and sharpen our resolve. As they tighten their security and increase pressure on Anonymous, our tactics will only become more effective. We know that, “the more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” Ultimately, they are only adding more fuel to our fire.
We were raised to value truth and justice. We grew up with the most powerful medium of information and free thought ever known. The establishment gave us a world with little hope for a better future and perpetrated horrors that would make Lovecraft himself shudder. What did those who instilled in us such values expect from us? That the most globally conscious and connected generation in history would just sit back and watch the world burn away? No, instead we decided to fix it and perhaps share some lulz in the process. We can not stand back and watch as the establishment enforces an outdated status quo on society. The world changes and so shall its people.
We Are Anonymous
We Are Legion
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget
Expect Us
Through the Looking Glass 