Anonymous is an international activist group primarily famed for various cyberattacks against governments, government agencies, and independent corporations. Over the years, the hacktivist group has championed for fairness while exposing corruption and scandalous activities in several organisations.
On Thursday, June 2024, Anonymous cautioned President William Ruto and his administration against violating the rights of Kenyans during the anti-Finance Bill #OccupyParliament protests.
In the one-minute video, the hackers asked the Head of State to respect the rights of Kenyans to picket and protest, threatening serious consequences should the government fail on its part.
“Greetings citizens of the world. This is a warning message to William Ruto, the Kenyan government and all members of parliament from Anonymous. It has come to our attention that there are discussions in parliament to pass the Finance Bill, which will unfairly tax the citizens of Kenya.
“Kenyans attempting peaceful demonstrations are being unfairly harassed, arrested, and shot at using live bullets by police force on your command,” the hacker group stated.
Anonymous noted that its aware of the leaked mobile phone numbers of Kenyan lawmakers, warning that more information may soon be leaked should the government fail to listen to the people.
“Soon, there will be an uprising of hackers, many of whom may reside in your home country. Your secrets may no longer be safe, and there is a chance that allow these secrets will be exposed to show how corrupt and unjust members of this parliament are, embezzling public funds for personal gain,” they said.
History
The Anonymous group has been around since the early 2000s, originating from the chaotic and often irreverent forums of 4chan. Initially, their activities were more about self-amusement, trolling, and cyberbullying.
However, two significant events in 2007 shifted their focus: the Church of Scientology’s attempt to remove a video featuring Tom Cruise from YouTube and a Canadian Security Intelligence Service agent’s approach to a leading member of Anonymous about working for Canadian law enforcement to disrupt online spaces of terrorist groups.
In response to the Church of Scientology’s actions, Anonymous launched a campaign against the organisation, flooding its website with traffic, linking the term “Church of Scientology” with “dangerous cult” on Google, and sending the church “black faxes” meant to cause fax machines to run out of toner or shut down. This marked a turning point for Anonymous, as they focused more on social activism and hacktivism.
In the following years, Anonymous conducted numerous operations targeting various organisations and causes. Some notable actions include:
– Operation Payback (2010): In retaliation for the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America hiring Indian software firm AIPLEX to launch DDoS attacks on The Pirate Bay and other file-sharing websites, Anonymous launched their attacks against these organisations.
– Operation Darknet (2011): Anonymous took down Lolita City, a website that enabled paedophiles to view innocent children being abused, and published the names of 1,500 people who used the website.
– Operation Tunisia (2011): During the Arab Spring, Anonymous provided crucial logistics to protest movements in Tunisia and other Arab nations, helping to spread the uprisings and support the fight for democracy.
– Operation Free Korea (2013): Anonymous declared cyber war on North Korea, aiming to disrupt the authoritarian regime’s satellite communications and demoralise its leadership.
The most successful and relevant operation has been #opDeathEaters, which preceded Operation Gabon. This operation is considered the culmination of all previous Anonymous operations, focusing on exposing and combating corruption, abuse, and human rights violations worldwide.
