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THE WORST IS YET TO COME

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FOR THOSE WHO DONT LIKE READING MUCH JUST READ PURPLE PART

After extensively covering Anonymous’ attack on Sony, PlayStation LifeStyle’s news was heavily referenced across the internet by other gaming sites, but they weren’t the only ones to take interest in our articles. Anonymous had noticed, and they wanted to talk.

After waking this morning, I checked Anonymous’ IRC, a secure chat system used by the group to co-ordinate their attacks, after scrolling down a few pages I noticed something – Anonymous were looking for me. User Takai stated on SonyRecon’s IRC “Find me Sebastian Moss… Wanna talk to him”. Subsequently, other members replied “There’s his twitter dude, I can get his email if you want… Moss is a member of GamesPress.com – his details will be easy enough to find.” Anonymous were closing in: “okay Mr Moss lives in central london” continuing “hey sebastain if your here wanna just go ahead and give us your phone number?… cause we’re going to find it”.

Dubbed by some as “giant killers”, its generally not seen as a good idea to incur the wrath of Anonymous, who were able to not only bring Sony down, but governments, Mastercard and US security firm HB Gary. However, while Anonymous has few rules, they do have a very strict one against attacking the press – as supporters of free speech, they must allow journalists to write what they want, even if they don’t like what is written. Takai told the members of the chat ” He is NOT a target”, repeating that I should not be intimidated or threatened.

Checking my Twitter, I had received a message: “Join our IRC #SonyRecon under the username BoltMoss72. Anon has a statement to make”. Anonymous has no formal leader, and instead any member can contribute to the group and suggest actions or make statements, but the SonyRecon IRC was almost unanimous – they had something to say to me.

I joined the chat soon after, still slightly nervous, updating my anti-virus software in a futile attempt to feel more secure. Takai immediately replied to my message, setting up a private chat room to talk. After looking at the IRC chat logs it was clear that Takai, while not a leader, did have a disproportionately high input in the chat, and the group’s actions. I asked Takai if he (gender assumed) would classify himself as “a current driving force behind SonyRecon” and he agreed, but later was careful to clarify that he had “not actually admitted to what [his] particular role in the operation is”, and light-heartedly that “perhaps [he is] merely a cheer leader”.

Takai believed that the FBI, along with Sony and Prolexic were watching the main group’s chat (but not our private conversation), so he chose his words carefully, ensuring he never technically admitted to any wrong doing. However, he said that he did not fear Sony coming after him, and that “they have bigger things to worry about than I”. He also joked that about the FBI watching them: “They’re names in a list. If they want to hang out and chat, by all means. Maybe they can help ddos!.. I hear the government has a fast connection or two ”

Hired by Sony, Prolexic are a company that specialises in defeating DDoS attacks – the kind currently used by Anonymous to bring down Sony. A powerful opponent, Prolexic have mostly managed to keep Anonymous at bay. Takai, however, seemed relaxed about the company’s defenses – “It was expected. We knew sooner or later Sony would enlist outside help”. Pressed on whether Anonymous would take out Prolexic, Takai showed confidence in the ‘hacktavist’s’ upcoming retaliation, stating “well, if I had to put money on it … I’d say, Prolexic is going down like a two dollar wh*** in a Nevada chicken ranch ”. He did admit that the company “is quite formidable” and congratulated “them for doing so well”, but again he warned “We do however have ways for dealing with the ‘Prolexic’ factor”. Hoping to not ruin the “big surprises” planned for Sony, he would not go into detail on what these ways were, refusing to comment on whether the site would be defaced – something that was considered in the main IRC.

It was clear that Anonymous have only just begun their assault on Sony, with Takai saying about the new defenses: “the last thing we want, is Sony thinking we were in any way discouraged”. He announced “[today] however is an important day for Sony”, threatening that far more was to come:

So far, all Sony has seen from us is poking and prodding. A simple salute to let them know, we’re coming. Make no mistake, what you saw today and thought to be frustration is merely preparation for what’s to come.

We said, expect us. Counting us out, would be a mistake.

Later:

For the sake of not shooting ourselves in the foot, I won’t comment on specific operational tactics we may or may not employ here. I will however say, that if Sony thinks LOIC is the only trick in our hat … they’re in for a hell of a wake up call. We’re really going all out for this one.

There are many different faces to the operation. Something we encourage is creative thinking.

He also confirmed that this belief was shared by many others: “My belief and that of all those you see here and many many more is that Anonymous is not done with Sony”. And it’s true, the IRC is filled with anonymous Anons planning a big attack, but due to my presence, the discussions on actual plans are kept off the main lines. Takai also stated that the fight could last for a long time: “We’ve known all along this war would not be won in a day. We’re here for the long haul though.”As part of the attack, SonyRecon compiled as much information as they can about individual Sony employees, something we previously reported on. “The most important thing in any war is information. Knowing your opponent goes a long way. Today was about probing”. When asked about what the data included, Takai replied: “Information about a great many things. Political campaign contributions, floral bouquets, the location of certain key servers in their network.” All this has been compiled to create a intricate list of information regarding the employees. “As employees of Sony, they are considered legitimate targets of the operation” Takai explained, but conceded the ‘ox’ were “primarily limited to those in positions of power and in very few cases their underlings”. Asked whether there was a limit to Anonymous’ actions, he clarified: “If you mean, would we endanger someone’s personal safety or that of their family. The answer is no. We’ve already made it clear in sonyRecon that pranks like bomb threats, or false fire alarms are considered out of bounds. That would impede emergency responders from dealing with actual emergencies and thus endanger people”. But continued: “We’re being more calculated than that … If a few VP’s wake up to 20 boxes of KY jelly at their front door, it’ll be great for lulz”.

With the grinning face of Guy Fawkes as one of their unofficial logos, ‘lulz’ play a big part in the group’s decisions, and while the online community may have helped in taking down the Tunisian Government, they were also responsible for “YouTube P*rn Day”, where adult videos were uploaded to the site en masse. Here, ‘lulz’ have been responsible for a member leaving the song “Chocolate Rain” 0n the Judge in Sony’s case against George Hotz’s answering machine. With personal details of major Sony employees now uncovered, more is sure to follow.

Previous Anonymous attacks were focused on attacking the corporations themselves, with effort put in to ensure that consumers were not hurt (according to some news outlets, Amazon was spared a full attack due to the fact that customers would suffer). However, in OpSony, the PlayStation Network was brought down, meaning that gamers could not play online or use the network’s other services.

“The consumers in this are as one might call, collateral damage” said Takai, after being confronted, “we are very cognisant of the fact that we are not making friends nor allies among the average consumer with our attack. This is unfortunate as a concern should always be, will the very people we seek to support not see what it is we are trying to achieve. In this case, many don’t. There has been a lot of hate spread throughout the internet and over forums that we are being reckless and simply punishing consumers more than Sony.”

To the consumers I would say …
Before you judge us, take the time to understand us.

While not being able to use the PSN is rather inconvenient, many feared a far greater threat – with the PS Store possibly compromised, was our credit card info safe? He replied: “I think I can safely say this on behalf of everyone, we have no malicious intent towards Sony’s consumers.” We mentioned that due to the IRC’s anonymity, a malicious hacker could go along with the hack, and use the chaos to their advantage, but Takai countered: “Attacks on systems are done as part of a coordinated effort. Although the operation is open to all, as is ddosing. More detailed operational components are more controlled.”

When Anonymous declared war on Sony, their reasoning was clear – they were defending George Hotz and Graf_Chokolo, and seeking retribution. As a jailbroken PS3 owner, Takai talked about his, and the group’s motives: “Sony needs to learn a lesson about life. You can push people only so far, eventually someone’s going to push back… Sony picks fights with kids whom they know to be incapable of defending themselves. We’re here to say, the defenseless, aren’t alone. Sony will not go trodding through the internet unchecked or unchallenged.” On a personal level, Takai expressed his belief in Open Source games, citing free titles like Angry Birds, but conceded that currently, high budget games might not be able to survive on that income stream after we contested the notion. He also agreed that developers deserve to be paid for their work, but did not focus on where the money would actually come from. Speaking about ‘rip-off’ DLC, he believes that boycotting products simply isn’t effective and that more drastic measures should be taken.

While Anonymous claim to stand up for the innocent and defenseless, it is sadly ironic that the average gamer is now left defenseless, unable to access their PlayStation Network accounts, and unable to play online – with our only defense being Sony and Prolexic. A huge number of Anonymous members are set to attack Prolexic and Sony later today, with the outcome of the PlayStation Network possibly hanging in the balance. While Takai is certainly confident in their success, Prolexic have managed to outfox them so far, meaning that it is hard to predict who will win.

Do you support Anonymous in their belief that we should have the right to tinker with our own devices, or do you think they have gone too far? Let us know in the comments below.

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Im not reading that prefer video i stoped after 4 words..

if there was a video i would have posted it for u

i bet you would :sleep: [NOT SARCASTIC]

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reposting this picture, maybe someone not retarded will actually understand it xD[/color]