11 August 2011 | Author: L Boyd Media Intern
Individuals claiming to be associated with hacker group Anonymous posted a video on YouTube Tuesday revealing Operation Facebook - a plan to destroy the social networking site.
According to the video, entitled Facebook Will Fall, the cyberattack is planned for 5 November, which is Guy Fawkes night.
Organisers of the proposed strike said the motivation behind such an assault comes down to how Facebook manages personal information. The privacy policies of Palo Alto have long been a sticking point with advocacy groups, with many pushing the social stalwart to be more transparent about information it shares.
The video comments on these privacy concerns: "Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world."
Facebook's not the only social network to raise the ire of 'hacktivists', however, as Anonymous previously lashed out at Google after having its presence on Google+ erased. In turn, the group pledged to build its own Anon Plus network, which has yet to materialise.
That's not to say the threat shouldn't be taken seriously, as Anonymous has been implicated in previous cyberattacks on targets such as the Pentagon, News Corp and this year's Sony PlayStation Network hacking incident.
It has been reported that even those within Anonymous are unsure if the threat is real. Recent tweets from @Anonymous display conflicting sentiments. An Anonymous-related account first tweeted "as far as we are aware, Facebook is NOT being attack[ed]," then just minutes later, "November 5th was the planned date by those who are a part of opfacebook - people should listen."
However, it cannot be certified that the account is official due to the nature of the Anonymous group - as the name suggests, the identities of hackers affiliated with the group remain unknown.
Facebook has yet to comment on the situation.
Confusion surrounds validity of Anonymous Facebook attack threat
Individuals claiming to be associated with hacker group Anonymous posted a video on YouTube Tuesday revealing Operation Facebook - a plan to destroy the social networking site. According to the video, entitled Facebook Will Fall, the cyberattack is planned for 5 November, which is Guy Fawkes night.
Organisers of the proposed strike said the motivation behind such an assault comes down to how Facebook manages personal information. The privacy policies of Palo Alto have long been a sticking point with advocacy groups, with many pushing the social stalwart to be more transparent about information it shares.
The video comments on these privacy concerns: "Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world."
Facebook's not the only social network to raise the ire of 'hacktivists', however, as Anonymous previously lashed out at Google after having its presence on Google+ erased. In turn, the group pledged to build its own Anon Plus network, which has yet to materialise.
That's not to say the threat shouldn't be taken seriously, as Anonymous has been implicated in previous cyberattacks on targets such as the Pentagon, News Corp and this year's Sony PlayStation Network hacking incident.
It has been reported that even those within Anonymous are unsure if the threat is real. Recent tweets from @Anonymous display conflicting sentiments. An Anonymous-related account first tweeted "as far as we are aware, Facebook is NOT being attack[ed]," then just minutes later, "November 5th was the planned date by those who are a part of opfacebook - people should listen."
However, it cannot be certified that the account is official due to the nature of the Anonymous group - as the name suggests, the identities of hackers affiliated with the group remain unknown.
Facebook has yet to comment on the situation.
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