In response to Swartz's death, the Internet activist group "Anonymous" hijacked the US Sentencing Commission's website (USSC.gov) and posted a video warning to avenge Swartz's death, calling the attack "Operation Last Resort." The video explained that when Swartz committed suicide, "a line was crossed," and that Anonymous has hacked several government computer systems and will publish the copied secret information if necessary. The video also elaborated on the supposed inherent corruption within the US justice system, noting how the justice system is skewed to benefit the wealthy, how the federal government is applying disproportionately harsh charges on Anonymous members, and how one must play "a game" within the justice system in order to receive the mildest sentence (quoted from the Anonymous video itself). According to the activist group, Anonymous chose to infiltrate the US Sentencing Commission for its symbolic meaning. The government agency has considerable influence on issuing sentences for criminals, which Anonymous believes are unfairly harsh for both its members and other individuals in society. The "hacktivist" group also claimed that it has "'enough fissile material for multiple warheads,' [named after Supreme Court justices,] which it would launch against the Justice Department and 'its associated executive branches,'" but its claims are largely unsubstantiated.
You may view the Anonymous video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WaPni5O2YyI
3 comments:
I think Swartz was being a little unreasonable. I suppose I'm under-informed, but it really seems like all his activism was rather petty. According to your article, it was against internet censorship? Not only does that sound a bit useless, it also doesn't give him any good reason to steal documents and hack things. Anonymous is going to avenge his death? I think his suicide was due to his own depression, not the government. It sounds like all of this is just people showing off that they're smart enough to hack into people's databases, and then blaming the government for trying to stop them. Regardless of whether his crimes "had no victims" or not, he was looking for trouble, doing illegal things for the heck of it.
From a neutral standpoint, one would think that Anonymous' actions seem unreasonable and that Swartz was simply asking for trouble, but Anonymous probably rallied behind Swartz because he was such a prominent member in the "Hacktivist" community. Even though his efforts against government censorship may not be well recognized by the everyday citizen, to Anonymous (and others in the cause), Swartz's work was important in furthering its goals. I may not share the same views as Swartz and others like him, and I think having protected documents open to the public may not always be a good idea, but I understand that Anonymous is also comprised of human beings that feel emotions. I feel it is only natural that they would retaliate against the government who contributed to the death of a friend.
Honestly, I think the government is pathetic if many of their computers can be hacked by one guy. If there are passcodes and strong firewalls, it should take a long time before they can actually get into the system. I actually think its sad on the US government's part that there are individuals that could actually hack into the United States computers single handedly. Then we should definitely worry about how the country is going to be like in the future. The future of warfare will not be nuclear as many have predicted, but computer warfare. Because of this, the US Government Agency will have to start protecting their documents better. It isn't just for themselves, but the country as a whole.
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