Remember, Remember the 5th of November

As we move past November, let us not forget Anonymous striking again on Guy Fawkes day

The “V for Vendetta” movie character is not only based upon the story of Guy Fawkes but has become synonymous with the Anonymous group of hackers.

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

With others, Fox planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters secured the lease to an undercroft beneath the House of Lords, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder they stockpiled there. Prompted by the receipt of an anonymous letter, the authorities searched Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and found Fawkes guarding the explosives. Over the next few days, he was questioned and tortured, and eventually he broke. Immediately before his execution on 31 January, Fawkes jumped from the scaffold where he was to be hanged and broke his neck, thus avoiding the agony of the mutilation that followed.

Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in England since 5 November 1605. His effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by a firework display.

In honor of Guy Fawkes day, November 5, 2012, Anonymous claims to have hacked Paypal and stole 28,000 customer passwords.  Paypal began a deep and thorough IT audit to confirm the bad news.  Paypal could not find any evidence of a successful attack, so far.  Meanwhile, Symantec was hacked, NBC’s website was successfully defaced and stated “Remember The Fifth of November…” with alleged credit for the attack by “pyknic”.  More sites including Gagadaily.com, a fan site for Lady Gaga was also exploited by “pyknic”.  Others may have occurred and might not have been disclosed as of yet.  Keep an eye on PrivacyRights.org on or around December 5^th, 2012 to see what other breaches will be disclosed within a 30 day period from Guy Fawkes Day.

Did the concept of the “Anonymous” hacking group originally stemmed from the thought that anyone can be a “Guy Fawkes” and actually finish the job of ‘blowing up’ the Establishment?  Has Anonymous taken the “Hacker Manifesto” (just google it and read it if you haven’t) to a new level whereby they are able to disrupt the operations of those they dislike such as their government, other governments, corporatism, large and global banks, creditors and others?  Could “Anonymous” become a front for multi-state Cyber Warfare?  Who is to tell when you cannot name the people behind the Guy Fawkes mask?  The Fifth of November may become a cover for many cyber activities ranging from true cyber activism to cyber crime and cyber war all rolled into one.

(Sources: CDM and www.wikipedia.org)