Anonymous threatens Facebook shutdown...or does it?

By James Ashworth

ANONYMOUS is planning to target Facebook in an attack on January 28. At least that’s what a video uploaded to YouTube on Monday is claiming in the name of the hacker network.

However, a tweet from the AnonOps Twitter account, that has correctly announced attacks in the past, denied the attack, saying: “Again we must say that we will not attack #Facebook! Again the mass media lie.”

The video calls on the American people to participate in the hack by downloading Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), the tool that was successfully used to target the Department of Justice. LOIC crashes websites by sending thousands of information packets to their servers at once.

“An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people and the government of the United States,” the video begins. “While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this doesn’t guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.”

The video gives instructions for downloading and running the program, as well as a time — 12 a.m. on Jan. 28 — to launch the attack. However it is unknown which time zone this is referring to, although it can be presumed to be one in the U.S.A.

“Would you like to become part of the greatest Internet protests and first official cyber war?” the video asks. “Operation Global Blackout is ongoing and everyone can be a part of it.”

Facebook, of course, is one of the world’s largest websites, operating through thousands of servers located across the world. In the video, Anonymous acknowledges the difficulties of attacking such a large site.

“While it is true that Facebook has at least 60,000 servers, it is still possible to bring it down,” says the Anonymous voice. “Anonymous needs the help of the people.”

We’ve heard this threat before from the global network of ‘hactivists’, who promised to shut down the site in 2011, over user privacy concerns. Ultimately, no attack was executed and the loosely connected hacker network called the threat the work of peripheral members.

Also on several Anonymous websites, and their Twitter feed, the hacker group has announced that they did not make the video. They have stated that they are currently searching for the culprits. Anonymous appear to have no motive for shutting down Facebook, as it also disagrees with SOPA and PIPA, and is useful for the group to spread their real messages.

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