Written by: Aashutosh Pudasaini - 22002, Grade XII
Posted on: 25 April, 2022
If you are on the internet for a while, I am sure you have heard the tales of the hacktivist group :Anonymous Whenever there is a conversation about hackers or hacking in general the term Anonymous is synonymous with that conversation. Anonymous started as a bunch of computer geeks on a 4chan server brought together by Christopher Poole(moot) in 2003, Poole named the server Anonymous, and people would converse on the server about many popular and burning issues in the world. They would express themselves freely about any problems in the society. Nothing was materialized in the beginning however when they had enough members they started to make progress and attack people or organizations that they viewed to be wrong. One of their first targets was the cult organization `Department of Scientology`. They have moved on since then and attacked any sort of wrongdoing.
Anonymous has been widely misrepresented by the mainstream media for as long as they have existed, not because they’re harmful and will do evil things but because they threaten their power and authority over the public. So often has Anonymous been antagonized by the big companies labelling them as “hostile”, and “harmful” but the reality is that Anonymous normally punishes wrong people who’ve done bad things like Hunter Moore, they have also hacked many Chinese websites during their Free-Taiwan movement. After the horrendous killing of George Floyd, Anonymous sided with the people and demanded justice for Geroge Floyd. They have hacked government websites to reveal heinous secrets hidden from the public eye. The sheer size of Anonymous makes it vulnerable to misidentity. Whenever there is a hostile hacking incident anonymous is the first hacktivist group people point their fingers at. To make matters worse people use Anonymous as a cash cow and spread the wrong message wearing the anonymous mask which not only spreads misinformation but also goes against everything anonymous stands for.
What I find fascinating about Anonymous is that everyone and anyone is anonymous. It could be me, you, the person behind you at the canteen, your father or anyone. Everyone hides their identity but has the same objective, to make the world a better place, may it be by punishing the wrong people or by promoting Open Source and open conversations between governments and people. Anonymous is here to stay and Anonymous means well.
“We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”: Anonymous
