Websites and Twitter accounts associated with the hacktivist collective “Anonymous” have warned that a planned cyber attack on New York Stock Exchange would be ineffective, hurt the image of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and likely result in arrests.
An “Anonymous” YouTube video began circulating on the Internet Monday that claimed the hacktivists had declared war on the New York Stock Exchange in an operation called “Invade Wall Street.”
“We can no longer stay silent as the population is being exploited and forced to make sacrifices in the name of profit,” the video said. “We will show the world that we are true to our word. On October 10th, NYSE shall be erased from the Internet. On October 10th, expect a day that will never, ever, be forgotten.”
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By Tuesday, members of “Anonymous” had begun denouncing the operation and “strongly advising” that no one take part.
“Please change these tactics for this Op to spare our movement the loss and to spare Occupy Wall Street the bad press,” said a statement on YourAnonNews.
Others have even suggested that the planned cyber attack was a false flag operation
“Operation Invade Wall Street is bullshit,” said another statement on PasteBin. “It is a fake planted operation by law enforcement and cyber crime agencies in order to get you to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement. It proposes you use depreciated tools that have known flaws such as LOIC.”
“Anonymous would never tell you to use LOIC – Not after the arrests and failures of Operation Payback.”
Federal authorities warned this week that “Anonymous,” which has encouraged the protests but does not represent them, will likely use the protests as a motivation for continued cyber attacks on targets seen as antagonistic to the cause.
