Anonymous: Attacks better than signing a petition

Renai LeMay
Friday, 12 February 2010 10:21

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

A spokesperson for the loose coalition of individuals who attacked Federal Government websites this week to protest against the internet filtering policy today acknowledged some thought the attacks were juvenile, but said they sent more of a message than 'signing a petition'.

The group this week knocked the website of the Australian Parliament offline in a distributed denial of service attack that also targeted the website of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

Government workers were also sent a flood of email with porn enclosed, prank phone calls and dodgy faxes, in an initiative dubbed 'Operation Titstorm'.

'Maybe some people think the attacks are juvenile but it makes more of a message then signing a petition as the attacks can not be ignored,' said an individual claiming to be a spokesperson for the group in an email interview.

They added they did not feel the attack would completely stop the filter initiative initiative from being cancelled. 'However, even if they make the blacklist public I personally will be happy, but there are other people that will not be happy until it is completely destroyed,' the spokesperson said.

They said the aim of the attack was to make governments everywhere aware that they 'can not mess with the internet and not have a backlash'.