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INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS
PAPER NO. 3 — SEPTEMBER 2013
Anonymous in Context:
The Politics and Power behind the Mask
Gabriella Coleman
INTERNET GOVERNANCE PAPERS PAPER NO. 3 — SEPTEMBER 2013 Anonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask Gabriella Coleman
Copyright © 2013 by The Centre for International Governance Innovation The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Centre for International Governance Innovation or its Operating Board of Directors or International Board of Governors. This work was carried out with the support of The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (www.cigionline.org). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution — Non-commercial — No Derivatives License. To view this license, visit (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). For re-use or distribution, please include this copyright notice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CIGI gratefully acknowledges the support of the Copyright Collective of Canada. The author would like to thank Mark Raymond, Christopher Prince, Darin Barney and Maya Richman for their generous and valuable comments. 57 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6C2 Canada tel +1 519 885 2444 fax +1 519 885 5450 www.cigionline.org
CONTENTS
About Organized Chaos: Reimagining the Internet Project 1
About the Author 1
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 2
The Formation and Mutations of Anonymous 4
2005–2010: From Trolling to Irreverent Activism 4
2010–2012: The Explosion of Digital Direct Action 5
The Logics of Anonymous
12
Weapons of the Geek 14
Conclusion 18
Works Cited 21
About CIGI 22Anonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
ABOUT ORGANIZED CHAOS: ABOUT THE AUTHOR
REIMAGINING THE INTERNET Gabriella Coleman is the Wolfe Chair in Scientific
PROJECT and Technological Literacy at McGill University.
Historically, Internet governance has been Trained as an anthropologist, she teaches, writes
accomplished en passant. It has emerged largely from and researches on the ethics of computer hacking,
the actions of computer scientists and engineers, with a focus on open source software and the digital
in interaction with domestic legal and regulatory protest ensemble Anonymous. She is the author of
systems. Beginning at least with the 2003–2005 Coding Freedom: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking
World Summit on the Information Society process, (published in 2012 by Princeton University Press) and
however, there has been an explicit rule-making is currently working on a second book on Anonymous.
agenda at the international level. This strategic
agenda is increasingly driven by a coalition of states
— including Russia, China and the Arab states — that
is organized and has a clear, more state-controlled
and monetary vision for the Internet. Advanced ACRONYMS
industrial democracies and other states committed
ACTA Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
to existing multi-stakeholder mechanisms have a
BART Bay Area Rapid Transit
different view — they regard Internet governance as
important, but generally lack coherent strategies for DDoS distributed denial of service
Internet governance — especially at the international EDT Electronic Disturbance Theatre
level. Given the Internet’s constant evolution and its EFF Electronic Frontier Foundation
economic, political and social importance as a public IRC Internet Relay Chat
good, this situation is clearly untenable.
LOIC Low Orbit Ion Cannon
A coherent strategy is needed to ensure that difficult NSA National Security Agency
trade-offs between competing interests, as well as PR public relations
between distinct public values, are managed in a
SOPA Stop Online Piracy Act
consistent, transparent and accountable manner that
accurately reflects public priorities. Guided by these
considerations, CIGI researchers believe they can play
a constructive role in creating a strategy for states
committed to multi-stakeholder models of Internet
governance.
In aiming to develop this strategy, the project members
will consider what kind of Internet the world wants
in 2020, and will lay the analytical groundwork for
future Internet governance discussions, most notably
the upcoming decennial review of the World Summit
on the Information Society. This project was launched
in 2012. The Internet Governance Paper series will
result in the publication of a book in early 2014.
Gabriella Coleman 1 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY software that would help the incumbent president
secure a second term. Used for fundraising and voter
Since 2010, digital direct action, including leaks, targeting, the system also crunched and analyzed
hacking and mass protest, has become a regular data to fine-tune voter targeting with the hope of
feature of political life on the Internet. This paper giving the campaign a critical edge over Republican
considers the source, strengths and weakness presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Amid much
of this activity through an in-depth analysis of fanfare after Obama’s victory, journalists praised his
Anonymous, the protest ensemble that has been star-studded technology team, detailing members’
adept at magnifying issues, boosting existing — hard work, success and travails — heralding the
usually oppositional — movements and converting system a stellar success.
amorphous discontent into a tangible form. It has
been remarkably effective, despite lacking the One of the team’s major concerns, however, was
human and financial resources to engage in long- not reported in the media. At all costs, the Obama
term strategic thinking or planning. Anonymous has team wanted to avoid attracting the attention of
neither the steady income nor the fiscal sponsorship Anonymous, a banner used by individuals and
to support a dedicated team tasked with recruiting groups to organize diverse forms of collective action,
individuals, coordinating activities and developing ranging from street protests to distributed denial of
sophisticated software. Wherein, therefore, lies the service (DDoS) campaigns to hacking. The Obama
power of Anonymous? How has it managed to campaign team treated Anonymous as (potentially)
strike such fear into corporations, governments and being even more of a nuisance than the foreign state
other groups? This paper answers these questions by hackers who had infiltrated the McCain and Obama
examining the intersecting elements that contribute campaigns in 2008.1 If Anonymous had successfully
to Anonymous’ contemporary geopolitical power: accessed servers or DDoS-ed the campaign website,
its ability to land media attention, its bold and it would have ignited media attention and potentially
recognizable aesthetics, its participatory openness, battered the campaign’s reputation. Although this
the misinformation that surrounds it and, in alone would not likely have jeopardized Obama’s
particular, its unpredictability. Anonymous signals chances for re-election (since his team was confident
the growing importance of what I call “weapons of that there was no controversial information to leak),
the geek,” a modality of politics exercised by a class a visit from Anonymous was considered a real
of privileged and visible actors who are often at the possibility and liability.
centre of economic life. Among geeks and hackers,
Unlike Anonymous, many hackers work
political activities are rooted in concrete experiences
surreptitiously. Organizations that have been hacked
of their craft — administering a server or editing
usually get to decide whether or not to disclose
videos — skills channelled toward bolstering civil
their situations to the public. This was the case, for
liberties, such as privacy.
example, with The New York Times, which made the
INTRODUCTION
In 2012, Obama’s re-election campaign team 1 See Brian Todd (2008), “Computers at the Headquarters of
assembled a talented and dedicated group the Obama and McCain Campaigns Were Hacked CNN Confirms,”
of programmers, system administrators, CNN, November 6, available at: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
mathematicians and data scientists to develop 2008/11/06/computers-of-obama-mccain-campaigns-hacked.
Gabriella Coleman 2 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
decision to go public after allegedly being targeted This paper showcases various intersecting elements
by Chinese state hackers for months. Anonymous, that contribute to Anonymous’ contemporary
on the other hand, seeks publicity before and after geopolitical power: its ability to land media attention,
every successful action. its bold and recognizable aesthetics, its participatory
openness and the misinformation that surrounds it.
There is a paradox at work here: state-supported
One feature stands out: Anonymous’unpredictability.
hacking is generally much better organized and
funded and, in some respects, far more powerful Take, for example, its birth as an activist endeavour.
than actions undertaken by Anonymous. Stuxnet Before 2008, the name Anonymous was deployed
is a perfect example. Developed by the Israeli almost exclusively for “trolling,” which in Internet
and American governments, this state-of-the- parlance means pulling pranks targeting people and
art malware was used to disable Iran’s capacity to organizations, desecrating reputations and revealing
produce enriched uranium. While Anonymous once humiliating or personal information. Trolling was
claimed to have created Stuxnet, its statement was coordinated on the Internet, often on the image
immediately identified as a hoax. Anonymous lacks board 4chan.org, for the sake of “the lulz,” that is,
the human and financial resources to engage in the “the laughs.” Anonymous accidentally — although
long-term strategic thinking or planning required dramatically — enlarged its repertoire of tactics
to code military-grade software. It has neither the in 2008, when it sprouted an activist sensibility
steady income nor the fiscal sponsorship to support during a full-fledged pranking campaign against
a dedicated team tasked with recruiting individuals, the Church of Scientology. By 2010, distinct and
coordinating activities and developing sophisticated stable activist nodes of Anonymous had emerged.
software. The name Anonymous was increasingly being used
to herald activist actions, often in ways that defied
Anonymous is difficult to pin down. Some “Anons”
expectations.
work independently, while others work in small
teams or join a swarm of demonstrators during a Mutability and dynamism continue to be a staple of
large-scale campaign. Anonymous tends to ride and Anonymous’ activism and historical development.
amplify the wave of existing events or causes. Even As a result, it is difficult to forecast when or why
if it magnifies and extends the scope of an event — Anonymous will strike, when a new node will
sometimes so significantly as to alter its nature or appear, whether a campaign will be successful and
significance — the campaign eventually ends as the how Anonymous might change direction or tactics
wave hits the shore. Sometimes Anonymous misses during the course of an operation. A by-product of
the wave, especially when the mainstream media the Internet, Anonymous rises up most forcefully
fails to jump on board to report on its operations. and shores up the most support when defending
values associated with this global communication
Wherein, therefore, lies the power of Anonymous?
platform, such as free speech. As one Anonymous
How has it managed to strike such fear into
participant phrased it during an interview, “free
corporations, governments and other groups, such
as the Obama campaign team, and accomplish its
objectives?
Gabriella Coleman 3 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
speech is non-negotiable.”2 But Anonymous has the ideal for privacy and acting as the popular face
repeatedly demonstrated that it is not bound to this of unrest across these movements. Anonymous thus
or any other imperative. Over the last five years, demonstrates the power of symbolic engagement as
Anonymous has contributed to an astonishing array a subspecies of direct social action.
of causes, from publicizing rape cases in small-town
This paper is divided into three sections. The first
Ohio and in Halifax to aiding in the Arab and African
provides a fairly straightforward narrative account
Spring of 2011. This growth, circulation and ongoing
of Anonymous from 2005 to 2012, honing in on
metamorphosis make their next steps difficult to
major events and turning points in its constitution
ascertain.
and evolution. This chronology is necessary given
Despite media reports to the contrary, Anonymous, Anonymous’ chameleon nature and the high degree
although it may be nimble, flexible and emergent, is of misinformation surrounding it. The second section
not random, shadowy or chaotic. Anonymous may briefly considers the core features of Anonymous,
be devilishly unpredictable and difficult to study, which shed light on its political significance. Section
but it still evinces core features. These attributes are three focusses on the strengths and weaknesses of
discussed in this paper. Anonymous as a protest movement.
Further contextualizing Anonymous in light of THE FORMATION AND
global currents over the last few years, it is rather MUTATIONS OF ANONYMOUS
unsurprising that a fiery protest movement, often
2005–2010: From Trolling to Irreverent
wedded to the Internet, has arisen at this time
Activism
and in this particular form. As indicated by its
name, Anonymous dramatizes the importance of Anonymous’ ancestry lies in the often obnoxious,
anonymity and privacy in an era when both are occasionally humorous and at times terrifying world
rapidly eroding for citizens, and when government of Internet trolling, where pranking abounds. Trolling
secrecy and systematic surveillance are on the rise, can be within the purview of a single individual,
especially in the United States. Anonymous has anonymous crowds or tight-knit trolling associations
also roared and soared in a tumultuous period of with offensive and racist names like “Gay Niggers
global unrest and discontent, evident in the large- Association of America.” Whether lighthearted
scale popular uprisings: the 15-M movement in or gruesome, propelled by a horde or delicately
Spain,3 the Arab and African Spring and the Occupy masterminded by a few individuals, trolling almost
movement. Over the last two years, sharp economic always entails an unpredictable combination of
inequalities the world over have been met by a tide trickery, defilement and deception.
of protest activity. While distinct, Anonymous is part
and parcel of these trends, symbolically showcasing By 2007, Anonymous was so well known for trolling
that Fox News anointed it the “Internet hate
machine” (Fox News, 2009). Anonymous mockingly
2 Unless otherwise indicated, quotes from Anonymous derive
embraced this hyperbolic title, no doubt enjoying
from interviews conducted with participants during anthropological
having gotten under the media’s skin. Soon after,
research carried out between 2008 and 2013.
someone used the name Anonymous to release a
3 The 15-M movement refers to a series of demonstrations over video, a grim parody drawing on Hollywood slasher
the economic crisis in Spain launched on May 15, 2011. flicks. The video proclaimed Anonymous as “the
Gabriella Coleman 4 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
face of chaos” that “laughs at the face of tragedy” Enough individuals were willing to move forward
(Anonymous, 2007) and captured trolling’s terrifying with the proposed experiment, and on February 10,
potential, especially for those who are not in on 2008, over 7,000 individuals protested in 127 cities.
the joke. Many demonstrators sported plastic Guy Fawkes
masks in order to conceal their identities. Since then,
Six months after being labelled the “Internet hate
the mask has remained Anonymous’ signature icon.
machine,” other individuals, largely from 4chan,
used the name Anonymous and its associated Although the protests were well organized and
iconography (headless men in black suits) to hailed as a triumph by participants, many of them
troll and subsequently organize earnest street knew very little about the Church of Scientology and
demonstrations. Trolling against the Church of its abuses, at least outside of pop culture references.
Scientology began in January 2008, catalyzed by the A combination of mischief and exploration drove
infamous internal recruitment video of Tom Cruise many of them to streets. Since the image board
praising the church’s efforts to“create new and better 4chan is anonymous and discourages even the use of
realities.” The video, leaked by critics of the church, pseudonyms (persistent nicknames and identities),
promptly went viral. many Anons went for the rare opportunity to
meet their brethren with no intention of engaging
When the Church of Scientology threatened Web
in further activism. Nevertheless, a large enough
publishers such as Gawker with legal action if they
number of rabble-rousers carried on with the
did not remove the video, Anonymous initiated
demonstrations to constitute Anonymous as an
what even today is considered by Anonymous to
activist enterprise; copious media coverage (which is
be one of their most legendary raids. Impelled by
a common feature in the history of Anonymous) also
the lulz, Anonymous launched DDoS attacks to
secured the ongoing life of Anonymous as a medium
jam Scientology websites, ordered unpaid pizzas
for directed political organizing.
and escorts for Scientology churches across North
America, faxed images of nude body parts to Although many participants, especially trolls,
churches and relentlessly phone pranked the church, contested Anonymous’ newfound political will,
in particular the Dianetics hotline (where callers can enough Anons stayed on to sustain a nascent
get advice about the “first truly workable technology political movement. The seeds of unpredictability,
of the mind”). Within a matter of weeks, trolling gave irreverence and deviance had also been sown
way to Project Chanology, a prolonged and earnest among these politically minded Anons. Some
political campaign against the Church of Scientology, degree of pranking and trickery has played a part in
which continues to this day. Anonymous’ political operations ever since.
Various forces and factors unexpectedly converged 2010–2012: The Explosion of Digital Direct
to ignite this metamorphosis. One inspiration was Action
a viral video calling for the “systematic dismantling
In 2009 and 2010, Anonymous’ actions were centred
of the Church of Scientology” (Anonymous, 2008).
on Project Chanology and trolling. Some people
Although the video was intended as a joke (that is,
participated in Project Chanology solely online,
for the lulz), it prompted a debate about whether
engaging in boisterous discussion on the popular
Anonymous should more purposively protest
web forum Why We Protest. Others, especially
the church or remain faithful to its madcap roots.
Gabriella Coleman 5 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
those living in or close to major cities across North websites to support the Zapatistas’ struggles for
America and Europe, showed up at monthly street autonomy. While Anonymous had initially deployed
protests rain or shine (or snow) to mock Scientology DDoS attacks during their first trolling raid against
adherents and air the documented human rights the Church of Scientology, Project Chanology
abuses of the church. They were supported by a abandoned this tactic. It never approved of nor relied
small cadre of committed Scientology defectors, much on hacking. To this day, Project Chanology
some of whom started to identify as Anonymous. opposes the use of DDoS attacks and tends to dismiss
Some of these defectors hail Anonymous as the the networks that deploy them. To acknowledge
“game changer” that enabled them to be open its internal feuds and sectarianism, Anonymous
and public about their ordeals with the church eventually adopted the refrain “Anonymous is not
(Christman, 2012). unanimous.” This message has yet to penetrate
public consciousness — the mainstream media
During this period, Anonymous branched out
still tends to describe participants only as hackers,
politically. For instance, some individuals who
technological actors already freighted with simplistic
were active in Chanology contributed to Iran’s
and pejorative associations.
fervent (though unsuccessful) green revolution. In
2009, denizens of 4chan were still using the name In September 2010, seven months after “Operation
Anonymous for notorious trolling escapades. Trolling Titstorm” (and two years after venturing into the
began to wane in 2010, when Anonymous’ political world of political activism), a new node hatched
portfolio diversified considerably. At the time of this following a rift over protest styles. Organizing in
writing, pure trolling under the name Anonymous the name of Internet freedom, a group of Anons
had largely ceased. There is, however, nothing had set their eyes on protesting the multilateral
preventing its resurrection. Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
through legal channels alone. A handful of the
In February 2010, individuals coordinated
group clamoured for direct action tactics, which
“Operation Titstorm,” a DDoS attack on the
included “black fax, emails, phone calls, pizzas called
Australian government to protest legislation aimed
to the office, a full on classic Anon assault,” as one
at curbing pornography by requiring Internet service
participant described it to me. In the minority, they
providers to use filters.“No government should have
were banned from a particular Internet Relay Chat
the right to refuse its citizens access to information
(IRC) server, but naturally could still use the name.
solely because they perceive it to be unwanted,”
So they did, and proceeded to “blitz these guys
declared Anonymous in an email sent to the press.
[copyright industry] into paying attention”by DDoS-
“The Australian government will learn that one does
ing pro-copyright associations such as the Motion
not mess with our porn. No one messes with our
Picture Association of America in defence of piracy
access to perfectly legal (or illegal) content for any
and file sharing.
reason” (quoted in Cheng, 2010).
This group eventually managed to attract a sizable
The political use of a DDoS attack placed
street team of participants and supporters. After
Anonymous in a camp alongside “hacktivists” like
roaming from one IRC network to another, these
the Electronic Disturbance Theatre (EDT), which
participants eventually established a dedicated IRC
had hosted “virtual sit-ins” in the late 1990s. In 1997,
server named AnonOps in November 2010. This
for instance, the EDT flooded Mexican government
Gabriella Coleman 6 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
network, known by the name of its IRC server, level and scope of supporters’ disenchantment with
would come to boldly embrace DDoS tactics and what they saw as unacceptable corporate censorship.
eventually endorse hacking as a political weapon,
This gathering was also one of the first large-scale
thus becoming one of the biggest and most
spontaneous online demonstrations. The outpouring
controversial media sensations.
of support even surprised AnonOps. Numbers on
By early December 2011, however, AnonOps IRC the IRC channel jumped from 70 individuals to 7,000
chat rooms, once bustling with life, had come to a in a couple of days (a fraction were also bots). As one
standstill. Core AnonOps participants — system participant explained, this left AnonOps “stunned
administrators, organizers, media makers and and a little frightened.” The targeting of WikiLeaks
hackers — were concerned by its dwindling number was yet another catalyst for politicizing Anonymous;
of supporters. Then on December 9, 2010, the number some key participants and organizers active today
of supporters skyrocketed. AnonOps managed to tap jumped aboard at a momentous time.
into, channel and thus render visible the collective
By 2011, both Anonymous and WikiLeaks were
furor over what its supporters deemed to be a wholly
recognized as staunch — albeit controversial —
inappropriate act of censorship against the whistle-
advocates for free speech. Both were ready to pounce
blowing organization WikiLeaks, which had caused
into action, in distinct ways, in the face of censorship.
a firestorm of controversy after releasing a trove of
Prompted by the Tunisian government’s blocking of
leaked classified diplomatic cables. Anonymous,
WikiLeaks, on January 2, 2011, AnonOps released
specifically AnonOps, launched a DDoS campaign
a video launching OpTunisia. The campaign was
aimed at PayPal, MasterCard and Visa in response to
initially spearheaded by one person, who corralled
their refusal to accept donations for WikiLeaks’ front
a group of participants, some of whom became
man, Julian Assange.
moderators (they helped “keep order” on the public
The technical work of jamming website access was IRC channel by keeping the conversation on-topic
coordinated by a select number of participants using and kicking trolls off the channel). A technical team
botnets (a large network of compromised computers). of hackers attacked Tunisian government websites
Many other individuals contributed using a tool and undermined software the dictatorial regime
known as Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC). An open was using to spy on citizens. Many others aided
source application available for download on the by translating information, writing manifestos and
Internet, LOIC allows users to contribute to a DDoS crafting publicity videos.
campaign. LOIC lacked privacy protections, however,
Although Anonymous initially intervened to stamp
and participants were not consistently informed that
out censorship, the same team continued to lend a
they would be put at legal risk unless they took extra
helping hand as country after country in the region
precautions to hide their IP addresses. (Eventually,
underwent revolution. Individuals organized in a
14 individuals, now known as the PayPal 14, would
dedicated AnonOps chat room, and the operations
be arrested in the United States in mid-July 2011
became collectively known as the “Freedom Ops.”
over alleged participation in these events.) This
For several months, they teamed up with local
mass participation may not have been technically
activists and hackers in Libya, Egypt, Algeria and
necessary, and it was certainly ethically dubious.
Syria. Although many participants have since moved
Nevertheless, it revealed to the world at large the
Gabriella Coleman 7 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
on or simply vanished, some forged relationships cocky rationale to a reporter for the Tech Herald, who
and connections that continue to this day. had covered their actions for many months:
By this time, Anonymous had become Let us teach you a lesson you’ll
multitudinous, prolific and unpredictable. In never forget: you don’t mess with
January 2011, AnonOps was buzzing with activity, Anonymous. You especially don’t
making it impossible for one person to stay abreast mess with Anonymous simply
of all the developments. The IRC network housed because you want to jump on a trend
dozens of distinct chat channels for other ongoing for public attention. You have blindly
operations to support the environment, student charged into the Anonymous hive, a
movements in Latin America and WikiLeaks, among hive from which you’ve tried to steal
other causes. honey. Did you think the bees would
not defend it? Well here we are.
Then, early in February 2011, an impromptu
You’ve angered the hive, and now
operation — targeting the corporate security
you are being stung. It would appear
firm HBGary — fundamentally and dramatically
that security experts are not expertly
reconfigured the political culture of AnonOps.
secured. (quoted in Ragan, 2011)
Participants transitioned from covert to public
forms of hacking, such as Web defacing. Hacking, Anonymous unearthed a damning document
always a tool but often used more clandestinely, entitled “The WikiLeaks Threat,” which outlined
became a public act, wielded for multiple purposes: how HBGary, in conjunction with the US Chamber
vengeance, turf protection, technological assistance, of Commerce, the Bank of America, Palantir
theatrics, exposing security vulnerabilities, searching Technologies and other security companies, could
for information to leak and for the lulz. undermine WikiLeaks by submitting fake documents
to the organization. Anons also found evidence
Much like the formation of Chanology, this
of plans to tarnish the reputations of WikiLeaks
transition wasn’t planned. It was a spontaneous act
supporters, including journalists such as Glenn
of revenge prompted by the actions of Aaron Barr,
Greenwald. Celebrated by Anonymous at large for
CEO of HBGary. Barr boasted that his firm had
restocking the lulz, this operation inspired a team
compromised Anonymous, claiming to a reporter
of technological elites to break away and devote
that it had allegedly discovered the real identities
themselves to the pursuit of mischief, unambiguously
of top operatives and was ready to hand them over
proclaimed in their choice of name: LulzSec.
to the FBI; a spreadsheet of names had been found
“When you get over nine thousand PM’s [private
and circulated online. In response, an AnonOps crew
messages on IRC] asking to help in some random
took the initiative to locate security vulnerabilities
‘op’” explained one member, “it’s a case of ‘the hell
on HBGary servers and search for information to
with this, I want to go have some fun.’”Although the
leak. A small group of hackers commandeered
press usually equated LulzSec with Anonymous, the
Barr’s Twitter account. They hacked HBGary servers,
hacker crew attempted to distance itself from the
downloaded 70,000 emails and deleted files. They
larger collective due to their freewheeling attitude
purportedly wiped out Barr’s iPhone and iPad, and
and their indiscriminate choice of targets. In contrast
then published the company’s data alongside Barr’s
to Anonymous, for instance, LulzSec went after the
private communications. They sent the following
Gabriella Coleman 8 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
press, who had been totally off limits, even among the wild show LulzSec put on as it targeted PBS, Fox
the networks such as AnonOps that favoured illegal News, Sony Pictures and EVE Online, along with
direct action tactics. dozens more.
It is likely for this reason that the infamous Sony This small crew of hackers, embroiled in their own
PlayStation hack, executed between April 17 and dramas, eventually retired on June 25, 2011, but
19, 2011, was often retroactively (and, as far as we many of the same individuals subsequently banded
know, incorrectly) attributed to LulzSec and, at the under “Operation Antisec.” Unlike LulzSec, Antisec
time of the hack, to Anonymous, as LulzSec had yet loudly and proudly branded itself as an Anonymous
to come into being. The massive breach forced Sony operation. While not forsaking deviant humour
to shut down the network for a prolonged period of (which had been a core feature of LulzSec’s public
time, leading to significant financial loss and scores persona), Antisec adopted a more militant tone.
of irate gamers around the world. To this day, while a This was largely attributable to two hackers: Jeremy
handful of LulzSec members have been prosecuted Hammond, a political radical who is currently in jail
for hacking, including against Sony Pictures, no awaiting sentencing, and Hector Xavier Monsegur,
one has been either indicted or prosecuted for the known as “Sabu,” who worked with Anonymous,
PlayStation Network outage.4 LulzSec and Antisec. Soon after being arrested on
June 7, 2011, Sabu also cooperated with law
With constant news coverage detailing their 50-
enforcement as a FBI informant. Soon after, he
day spree, hackers and hacking groups became the
became the public face of Antisec through his
public (and notorious) face of Anonymous, even if
popular Twitter account, where he specialized in
other operations were ongoing and LulzSec had, for
140-character tirades against the group’s main
the time being, proclaimed its independence from
targets: the government, security firms, the police
Anonymous. On May 13, 2011, LulzSec declared
and corporations.
on Twitter: “Must say again: we’re not AnonOps,
Anonymous, a splinter group of Anonymous, or While Antisec was busy at work over the summer
even an affiliate of Anonymous. We are #Lulzsec :D” of 2011, several stable and distinct entities were
(LulzSec, 2011). The team provoked a measure of operating simultaneously: AnonOps; Chanology;
controversy among Anons for being such a loose Cabin Cr3w (a small team that had formed, in part,
cannon. Although LulzSec and Anonymous shared to poke fun at Antisec, but conducted its own legal
common principles, a common culture and even and illegal operations); a new network known as
some personnel, there was still enough ideological VoxAnon (which initially formed in opposition to
distance between the two that many Anons, along AnonOps); as well as regional networks in Brazil,
with security professionals, geeks, activists and India and elsewhere. With few exceptions, media
hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers, either accounts of Anonymous have tended to focus on
seemed to genuinely enjoy their antics and support hacking, which has now become a convenient
them, or were at least compelled enough to watch shorthand to describe Anonymous’ activities;
however, many of Anonymous’ operations, past and
present, have little to do with hacking. Anonymous’
4 See Charles Arthur (2013), “LulzSec: The Unanswered effectiveness stems, in part, from its tactical diversity.
Questions,” The Guardian, May 16, available at: www.guardian.co.uk/ Operation BART (OpBart) provides a striking case.
technology/2013/may/16/lulzsec-unanswered-questions.
Gabriella Coleman 9 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
Once again, Anonymous took action in response of Twitter accounts, such as Your Anonymous News,
to an act of censorship: In August 2011, the San AnonyOps and AnonymousIRC, had amassed
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) decided to hundreds of thousands of followers. The largest, Your
disable mobile phone reception on station platforms Anonymous News, currently has over one million
in order to thwart planned protests against police subscribers and roughly 25 individual contributors.
brutality. Anonymous naturally publicized the well- This trend demonstrates that while Anonymous
attended street demonstrations they helped organize. relies on the media to amplify its actions and amass
A couple of individuals also hacked into BART’s support, it is not wholly dependent on corporate
computers and released customer data in order to media to get word out or issue calls to action.
garner media attention. An illicit, semi-nude photo
The Stratfor affair was followed by a flurry of
of BART’s official spokesperson, Linton Johnson,
widespread participatory protest activity between
was republished on the “bartlulz” website, with the
January and March 2012. This activity largely
following brazen rationalization: “If you are going to
emanated out of AnonOps and VoxAnon, with wide
be a dick to the public, then I’m sure you don’t mind
support on Twitter and other forums. First, there
showing your dick to the public” (Bartlulz, 2011).
were protests against a looming copyright bill, the
Soon after OpBart, activity on AnonOps once again Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the passage of
came to a halt. Its IRC network was often taken offline which unravelled due to a massive and elaborate
by a rogue hacker’s DDoS attack. VoxAnon provided outpouring of dissent. The linchpin was a “blackout
another home base, but it often came under attack as day,”a Web-based protest of unprecedented scale. By
well, and it had yet to pull off a major operation. In raising awareness about SOPA and publicizing the
the fall of 2011, many Anons turned their attention blackout day, Anonymous’ contribution was notable.
to the Occupy protests sweeping North America On January 17, 2012, non-profits, some prominent
and Europe. Even before Occupy officially began on Web companies, public interest groups and
September 17, 2011, Anonymous had churned out thousands of individuals temporarily removed their
many videos and images, essentially acting as an websites from the Internet to voice their opposition
informal — but vital — public relations (PR) wing to the bill. Thousands of citizens called or emailed
of the movement and drumming up support. Some their political representatives to voice their concerns.
Anons chose to encamp with the protesters, while
The next day, federal authorities orchestrated
others provided technological assistance. At the
the takedown of the popular file-sharing site
camps, individuals without any prior connection
MegaUpload. The company’s controversial founder,
to Anonymous’ Internet-based networks sported
Kim Dotcom, was arrested. Anonymous activists
plastic Guy Fawkes masks.
were outraged at the government’s pre-emptive
In the winter of 2011-2012, Anonymous’ online takedown of this popular website: it seemed to
activity roared again. In late December, Antisec confirm that if bills like SOPA became law, Internet
announced that it had hacked the global intelligence censorship would become commonplace. Although
firm Stratfor. It initially used customers’ credit cards Kim Dotcom had not yet been found guilty of piracy,
to donate to charities — à la Robin Hood — in his property was confiscated and his website shut
honour of “Lulzxmas,” and eventually handed off down.
company emails to WikiLeaks. By this time, a number
Gabriella Coleman 10 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
In the wake of these events, Anonymous coordinated publicly called for such an attack, and there is no
its largest DDoS campaign to date. This time, it did evidence to suggest that it had even considered
not reach out to the public at large to take part; it doing so.
relied on its own (or rented) botnets. Anonymous
On March 5, 2012, one of the core Antisec hackers,
targeted a slew of websites, including the homepages
Jeremy Hammond, was arrested by the FBI. The next
of Universal Music, the FBI, the US Copyright Office,
day, Fox News broke the story that one of the most
the Recording Industry Association of America and
prominent Anonymous hackers, Sabu, had been
the Motion Picture Association of America, all of
working as an FBI informant subsequent to his arrest
which experienced downtime.
in June 2011. This confirmed the long-standing
Anonymous reappeared in Europe a few weeks later, suspicion that informants had infiltrated Anonymous
as massive on- and offline demonstrations were and that Antisec had been at least partly manipulated
unfolding to protest ACTA, another international by government interests. Mistrust, which had always
copyright law. After the Polish government agreed hung over the Anonymous networks, began to give
to ratify ACTA, Anonymous took down a slew of way to a bleaker, ominous paranoia. Many wondered
government websites and publicized the street whether this would put an end to Anonymous.
protests that were sweeping Krakow. Soon after,
Antisec’s hacking activity subsided for a period of
as part of a self-conscious publicity stunt and with
time, but in March 2012, hackers and others helped
no connection to Anonymous groups, members
erect a new leaking platform, Par:AnoIA (Potentially
of the left-leaning Palikot’s Movement political
Alarming Research). Hackers have expressed the
party concealed their faces with paper-cut-out Guy
need to re-shift internal security practices in order
Fawkes masks during a parliamentary session to
to protect individuals from ongoing government
protest ACTA. The European Union scrapped ACTA
infiltration.
in July 2012.
Anonymous-led activity picked up again over the
According to a Wall Street Journal article from
summer of 2012 with a flurry of international ops.
February 21, 2012, weeks after the flurry of protests,
OpQuebec, which defaced provincial police websites,
the US National Security Agency (NSA) labelled
gained momentum in May 2012 after the passage of
Anonymous an imminent threat to national security,
Bill 78, a law curtailing protest activity. Organized in
claiming that Anonymous “could have the ability
June 2012, OpIndia rallied on the streets; activists
within the next year or two to bring about a limited
took down a state-owned Internet service provider
power outage through a cyber attack” (Gorman,
website for blocking file-sharing sites.
2012). Subsequent news reports quoted Anonymous
activists and security experts who dismissed the In early 2013, Anonymous hackers launched
NSA’s claims as fear mongering.5 For all of its legal Operation Last Resort and once again initiated a
and illegal tactics, to date, Anonymous had never string of Web defacements and hacks, this time in
memory of the activist and hacker Aaron Swartz.
Many believe that Swartz committed suicide due
5 See Sam Biddle (2012), “No, Idiots, Anonymous Isn’t
to his ongoing legal battles with the American
Going to Destroy the Power Grid,” February 21, available at:
Department of Justice and the prospect of facing
http://gizmodo.com/5886995/no-idiots-anonymous-isnt-going-to-
decades in jail for downloading a large cache of
destroy-the-power-grid.
Gabriella Coleman 11 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
academic journal articles from JSTOR, the scholarly required. To be sure, hackers (including programmers,
archive. security researchers and system administrators) are
essential to Anonymous’ networks. They erect and
The Logics of Anonymous
maintain communication infrastructure, and infiltrate
Relying on a fairly predictable script, most servers to expose weak security or in their hunt for
commentators — including journalists and information to leak. Given the mass media’s frenzied
academics alike — usually introduce Anonymous obsession with hackers, their actions invariably nab
as an evasive and shadowy group of hackers. This a majority of the headlines. While hackers obviously
description distorts sociological reality. Although wield more technical power and their opinions carry
Anonymous is certainly a home to hackers, a great weight, they don’t erect entrance barriers nor control
many Anons are neither hackers nor difficult to find. the evolution of Anonymous. Individuals without
If you want to talk with some participants, simply log technical skills can participate by collectively writing
onto one of their IRC networks. press communiqués, giving media interviews on
IRC, designing propaganda posters, editing videos
Invented in 1989, IRC is still used by geeks and and mining information that is publicly available
hackers to develop software and (as its name but difficult to access. To get the word out and
suggests) to chat. IRC is unlike other media we attract new volunteers, participants have developed
are familiar with today — it is entirely text-based, best practices. Back in 2010 and for much of 2011,
generally free of candy-coloured icons or cute noises it was common for a small dedicated team to
and conducted with its own mix of text commands constantly flood 4chan with propaganda material
and norms of communication. By today’s standards, to recruit participants. Today individuals running
IRC provides bare-bones functionality, but its staying large Anonymous Twitter accounts coordinate to
power and appeal likely lies in this simplicity. Ideal spark a “Twitter storm” with established hash tags
for real-time communication and coordinating to publicize an issue in the hopes it will trend.
operations, many Anons settle onto various stable Organizers thus emerge to advise, inspire and corral
IRC networks, where they converse on public or troops, and some even broker between different
private channels. In many regards, it functions like groups and networks; brokering is vital for the
an online social club open 24 hours a day. This is formation of inter-network ad hoc teams.
where lulzy humour flourishes and intimate bonds
of fellowship are formed. Anons aren’t required to No single group or individual can dictate the use of
use IRC, though; some prefer to act alone, while the name or iconography of Anonymous, much less
others turn to Web forums, Twitter and/or other chat claim legal ownership of its names, icons and actions.
protocols. Illegal activities are orchestrated on invite It has now become the quintessential anti-brand
only, encrypted communication channels. brand. Naturally, this has helped Anonymous spread
across the globe. Although Anonymous may at times
Nevertheless, compared to spheres of hacker activity appear to be chaotic, participants rarely choose
where contributions (and often respect) require targets randomly. Operations tend to be reactive;
technical skills, Anonymous is more participatory, existing local, regional and international events
which sustains its dynamism and flexibility. In order and causes can trigger action from Anonymous.
to be part of Anonymous, one need simply self- Leaking and exposing security vulnerabilities are
identify as Anonymous. No particular abilities are two common proactive interventions.
Gabriella Coleman 12 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
All types of operations can usually be linked to a The majority of individual Anons never break the
particular IRC network, such as AnonOps, AnonNet law; however, since Anonymous can’t generally
or Voxanon or a Twitter account dedicated to the police participants, it’s possible that some may.
operation, such as @OpLastResort. Although Certain factions have certainly done so (and over
individuals on these networks generally take credit 100 individuals across the globe have been arrested
for their operations, they sometimes deny their for their alleged participation). Any vulnerability will
participation. Naturally, regional issues command be exploited, any advantage generally leveraged. A
the attention of regional networks. To date, and with handful of Anons have used tactics such as doxing,
a few exceptions, regional operations have garnered that is, leaking someone’s Social Security number and
scant academic or media attention; they may prove home address or other personal information. This
impossible to study retrospectively. tactic was used against BART’s official spokesperson
and against numerous police officers who pepper-
Only a handful of actions performed under the
sprayed Occupy protesters.
banner of Anonymous have been atypical, such as
the lone anti-abortion hacker who targeted Britain’s Journalists highlight these controversial acts, which
largest abortion clinic.6 While predictions of chaos invariably boosts Anonymous’ profile. Unlike
unleashed by evil or maladjusted hackers loom criminal groups who want to remain hidden,
large in the state’s anxieties about Anonymous, they Anonymous seeks the limelight. Partly because
remain largely unrealized. To date, no Anonymous of its maverick image and transgressive antics,
operation has been diabolical and no existing node Anonymous has attracted significant attention,
has ever expressed the desire to do something as sometimes admiration and sometimes fear. As an
rash as taking down the power grid (as the NSA once entity though, Anonymous is often slippery, evasive
predicted). That’s not to say that all of Anonymous’ and invisible. Its organizing principle — anonymity
operations are laudable, or effective. Indeed, since the (or technically pseudonymity) — makes it difficult
character and tactics of each Anonymous operation to tell how many people are involved overall.
are distinct, blanket moral judgments are hard to Although core participants exist and chat channels
make and tend to be overly simplistic. In some cases, are dedicated to reporters, Anonymous has a shifting
targeted individuals and organizations have suffered cast of characters. Some individuals routinely change
some combination of harm to their reputation and their online nicknames. If a participant leaves for a
finances. (From Anonymous’ point of view, this is few months, catching up can prove frustrating and
the desired outcome.) Given its unpredictability, certainly time consuming, even more so for an
past actions are no basis for predicting the future. observer.
Still, reckless operations meant to endanger lives
Misinformation about Anonymous abounds. Some
have, thus far, never been part of Anonymous’ moral
of it is self-sown, but some has been foisted upon
calculus or tactical repertoire.
the movement. Journalists, even those reporting for
reputable news outlets, have at times incorrectly cast
6 See Ben Quinn (2012), “Anti-abortion activism escalating,
warns clinic targeted by vigil,” March 13, The Guardian, available at:
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/13/anti-abortion-activism-clinic-
vigil.
Gabriella Coleman 13 CIGIONLINE.ORGInternet Governance Papers: Paper No. 3
DDoS campaigns as a subspecies of hacking.7 In fact, protests over a range of issues, in particular
the servers that bear the brunt of DDoS attacks are civil liberties, and to transform policy and law.
not hacked into and do not suffer any permanent Anonymous signals the growing importance of what
damage or data loss. A successful DDoS blocks I call “weapons of the geek,” in contrast to “weapons
access to an Internet domain (often a very large of the weak” — the term anthropologist James Scott
one), but it does not affect an organization’s internal (1985) uses to capture the unique, clandestine nature
computer system. If companies follow basic security of peasant politics. While weapons of the weak
best practices, their financial payment processing, is a modality of politics among disenfranchised,
trading networks and other core infrastructure won’t economically marginalized populations who engage
be sitting wide open on the Internet, vulnerable to in small-scale illicit acts — such as foot dragging
an attack. DDoS tactics are political stunts. The sites and minor acts of sabotage — that don’t appear on
that are the most vulnerable to these attacks tend the surface to be political, weapons of the geek is a
to be symbols of important infrastructure, not the modality of politics exercised by a class of privileged
infrastructure itself. and visible actors who often lie at the centre of
economic life. Among geeks and hackers, political
To disguise itself further, Anonymous also seeds false
activities are rooted in concrete experiences of their
information, thereby pulling the wool over the eyes
craft — administering a server or editing videos —
of the media, and even confounding participants.
skills channelled toward bolstering civil liberties,
As one organizer put it, “so much of Anon[ymous]
such as privacy. Unlike peasants, who seek to remain
relies on smoke and mirror tactics.” For example, an
inconspicuous and anonymous, geeks and hackers,
Anonymous-based group may take credit for a hack,
even Anonymous, indisputably call attention to
actually given to them by some other hacker or team;
themselves via their volatile, usually controversial,
Anonymous relies on botnets to knock a website
legal and transgressive political acts. They are testing
offline, but it won’t advertise this in its press releases.
new possibilities and legal limits for digital civil
It can be hard, at times, to distinguish fib from fact,
disobedience.
truth from lies. This obfuscation adds to Anonymous’
mystique and, thus, to its power. Hackers and geeks, diverse in skills, political
sensibilities and national backgrounds, are naturally
WEAPONS OF THE GEEK
intervening in equally diverse ways. For instance,
While certainly unique in its bombast and hackers have crafted a legal mechanism to side-step
capriciousness, Anonymous is part of a wellspring of traditional copyright regulations: copyleft, a class of
hackers and geeks taking political matters into their licenses that can be applied to software to render
own hands to make their voices heard, to orchestrate it open source. Since the early 1990s, hackers have
coded and used privacy and encryption tools such
as Pretty Good Privacy and Tor (originally short for
7 For example, in March 2013, an article in the Los Angeles
The Onion Router) to provide technical protection
Times issued a correction after incorrectly stating in a post that an
from state and corporate snooping. Dozens of other
indictment charged Anonymous with what amounted to hacking.
examples of geeks engaging in diverse genres of
See Matt Pearce (2013), “Wisconsin man indicted in Anonymous
collective action come to mind, from the chartering
attack of Koch Industries,” Los Angeles Times, March 27 Available at:
of new political parties such as the Pirate Party in
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/27/nation/la-na-nn-anonymous-
Europe, to the astonishing proliferation of informal
koch-hack-20130327. The correction appears near the end of the article.
Gabriella Coleman 14 CIGIONLINE.ORGAnonymous in Context: The Politics and Power behind the Mask
workshops, such as hacker labs and spaces, around digital data, often insecurely on unencrypted servers,
the world, to the rise of policy geeks educating which can at times be legally accessed, and in other
politicians and staff technologists advising lawyers cases illegally procured, but once leaked, is nearly
in advocacy groups. impossible to contain and sequester.9
Hackers and technologists have also been at the Since Anonymous’ forte is publicity, it can create a PR
forefront of the dramatic resurgence of whistle- nightmare for its targets. This reflects an important
blowing. These activities are, in part, the result of the aspect of the contemporary media and information
efforts of Julian Assange, who chartered WikiLeaks environment: the reputations of institutions or
in 2006, and US solider Chelsea Manning (formerly individuals are now more vulnerable to credible
Bradley Manning),8 who provided WikiLeaks with critiques and leaks, as well as false smear campaigns.
its most explosive material. Anonymous would Even if information is not featured on the evening
eventually take the baton of leaking by targeting news, it may still spread like wildfire if enough
security firms and governments. To date, the most individuals circulate it on social media.
significant leak has come from Edward Snowden,
Still, Anonymous stands apart for the unparalleled
an ex-NSA employee and system administrator. In
degree to which it injects suspense, drama and
June 2013, he confirmed what Anonymous, privacy
intrigue into existing or self-generated events.
activists and journalists have been claiming for years:
Sometimes it merely pens a manifesto, other times
the NSA not only has vast capabilities to intercept,
it ignites a large-scale protest. Each intervention is
store and analyze the digital traces and footprints
distinct, but all benefit from Anonymous’ formidable
of citizens and foreigners alike, but in so doing has
PR machine. The machine churns out homemade
broken numerous laws and lied to Congress.
videos, manifestos and images via Twitter, IRC
Within this diverse and expanding ecology of channels or Web forums, usually generating some
hacker-based activity — one might even view it as an degree of spectacle. In a more general register, its
emerging digital environmentalism — Anonymous iconography — Guy Fawkes masks and headless
specializes in acts of disobedience, defiance and suited men — symbolically and spectacularly asserts
protest. It is adept at magnifying issues, boosting the idea of anonymity, which they embody in deed
existing (and usually oppositional) movements and and words. Anonymous’ particular elixir of spectacle
converting amorphous discontent into a tangible is especially nourished by its aforementioned
form. Individuals who live at great distances from unpredictability and mystery: Who exactly are
each other, without hefty financial resources, band the men and women behind the mask? What will
together under recognizable names and symbols they do next? How will police react to their calls
to direct attention on and thus judge — often quite for justice and their threats to release the names
swiftly — the actions of individuals, corporations and of alleged perpetrators? It thus works to air and
governments. To do so, they often exploit a feature of
our collective digital predicament: corporations and
governments have collected and stored a vast sea of
9 See “35% of Companies Worldwide Don’t Use Encryption
to Safeguard Business Data” (2013), Kaspersky Lab, March 14, available
8 On August 22, 2013, Chelsea Manning announced that she at: www.kaspersky.com/about/news/virus/2013/35_of_companies_
considers herself a woman and had changed her name. worldwide_dont_use_encryption_to_safeguard_business_data.
Gabriella Coleman 15 CIGIONLINE.ORGYou can also read
