| Subject: chapter outline |
| From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
| Date: 9/18/11, 20:52 |
| To: Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com> |
Broadly, the narrative structure to be employed by the book will reflect that used in the attached proposal, with Housh's experiences brought into play when helpful in order to better describe specific events in which he was involved as well as larger trends. In addition to those facts about Anonymous and related issues which are publicly available, many of these events and trends will be described via the large amount of source material chat logs, first-person accounts, recordings, original research from which the authors will be drawing.
This
outline should be understood as conveying the broad strokes of each
chapter; it leaves out dozens of characters, incidents, hacks, and
other elements that will be making up the grist of the
narrative.
Chapter
One:
January
2011. Within a 24-hour period, 40 U.S. residences are raided by armed
FBI agents, who seize computers, cell phones, and electronic storage
devices. Around the same time, another five people are arrested in
the U.K. Authorities in both countries announce these actions to have
been the result of a cooperative - and very much ongoing -
investigation into cyber attacks launched the previous month by the
mysterious collective known as Anonymous.
But
the authorities know little more than the public and press about the
nature of the group theyre up against. One of the Britons who is
briefly held by Metropolitan police undergoes an intense round of
questioning about things that would have been obvious to any of the
thousands of participants who gather in one of the collectives
several online meeting places. This failure of understanding is
partly cultural; despite its short history, Anon has its own
language, symbols, and customs.
An
overview of Anonymous is here provided through statements by its
detractors and opponents - the Department of Homeland Security, NATO,
various security firms, think-tanks, and governments. Gregg Housh
provides whatever additional commentary is needed to bring the reader
to a working understanding of the group - while also making clear
that its chaotic and fast-evolving nature is such that true
understanding is achieved only to the extent that one sees it from
the inside, and even then over time. Anonymous is not a system, but
rather a process.
The
operation that prompted the aforementioned law enforcement sweep is
explained. Wikileaks, of which many Anonymous participants are
admirers, had been cut off from donations by Visa, MasterCard, and
Paypal; the websites of each firm were afterwards taken down via an
Anonymous DDOS attack. The motives, culture, organization, and
tactics of Anonymous are here further explored in the course of
detailing the collective's relationship with Wikileaks.
Chapter
Two: Origins and Potential
Chapter begins with Housh's release from prison in 2002, prompting an explanation of criminal hacker culture and the wider internet underground. 4Chan appears in 2003 and quickly evolves into a largely unparalleled phenomenon; before reaching the mainstream, memes are invented, incubated, and refined on the website, and particularly on the /b/, or random, board. The culture spreads to other venues such as 7chan, which itself comes to specialize in raids; Encyclopedia Dramatica, which chronicles and sometimes participates in associated drama; and irc.partyvan.org, which provides for continuity of relationships not available on anonymous boards. The self-identification of Anonymous begins to manifest, along with slogans, symbols, and a consensus that the group is nihilistic in nature. Increasingly bold and occasionally clever pranks prompt confused bouts of media attention. Mass raids against online environments such as Habbo and Second Life serve to demonstrate potential of the shared culture to disrupt targets.
In 2007, incident in which 7chan comes into conflict with white nationalist radio host Hal Turner sparks particularly successful spontaneously-organized raid by Anonymous. DDOS, doxing, research, propaganda, other tactics are collectively organized and conducted among the loose network of venues that have come into existence. Some who join in are unaware or uninterested in Anonymous' non-ethical agenda, believing the campaign to be justified by Turner's racist activities rather than amusement.
Chapter Three: Transition to Activism
When scattered Anonymous participants begin talk of an attack on the Church of Scientology, Gregg Housh and a few others post a propaganda video that ends up receiving millions of views and attracting tens of thousands to the cause. A wide range of attacks are made on CoS by various Anons as Gregg and his associates working in secret out of the channel #marblecake seek to steer things in a particular direction. An IRL protest campaign brings new and old Anons out to the streets in dozens of cities, raising the movement's profile while also rendering it a de facto activist movement.
Housh is identified by CoS, which takes him to court; the release of his name leads the media to increasingly defer to him for definitions of Anonymous while also attracting calls for advice from others looking to start their own operations. Meanwhile, disgruntled former associates turn on him after a series of disputes, and Anons who resent the repurposing of their culture for moralfaggotry; both situations lead to years of unusual net-based attacks on Housh and others for years to come.
Chapter Four: Revolution
An Anon known as Tux gets in touch with Housh before launching Operation Titstorm, a campaign directed against proposed Australian internet censorship laws. Among other things, state websites are taken down via DDOS attack, prompting international attention. The legislation is tabled indefinitely. Others within the Anonymous movement involve themselves in the Iranian Green uprisings of 2010.
In early January of 2011, Anonymous participants based largely out of the AnonOps IRC server begin OpTunisia in assistance of an ongoing civil revolt. State websites are DDOSed and in some cases replaced with messages of support to the population, providing morale support and bringing outside media attentions to the protests, which had previously been ignored elsewhere. Veterans of prior revolutions are recruited to write guides for civilians unfamiliar with street tactics; software is distributed to prevent government phishing of accounts and monitoring of online planning sessions; Tunisians use AnonOps as a virtual meeting place. Much of this process is repeated in Egypt, Algeria, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Kuwait, Libya, and elsewhere over the next few months.
Chapter Five: HBGary and the Intelligence Contracting Industry
A few weeks after the U.S. raids against 40 suspected Anons, HBGary CEO Aaron Barr tells a newspaper that he has infiltrated Anonymous and identified its leadership. The next day, HBGary is hacked and 70,000 of the company's e-mails are posted online. Soon afterwards, the company's participation with two other firms in proposed disinformation/intimidation/cyberattack campaigns against Wikileaks, journalists, and activists are discovered, leading to Barr's resignation and calls for a Congressional inquiry. Palantir and Berico, two other software/intelligence firms, break off ties with HBGary and imply that the proposals were created without executive knowledge despite evidence to the contrary.
A USAF call for bids on persona management is discovered in the e-mails soon afterward, revealing that a number of institutions are developing or deploying fake online personalities for purpose of infiltration and disinformation. Anonymous launches Operation Metal Gear to investigate this and other issues in the absence of continued media investigation. Over the next several months of research and social engineering, Anons discover a great deal of previously-unknown information on the U.S. intelligence contracting industry, including Romas/COIN, misattributable marketing, and other capabilities, highlights of which are detailed.
Chapter Six: Lulzsec, Antisec, and Division
OpSony launches after Sony begins seeking IP addresses of those who accessed a YouTube video explaining how to modify the Playstation 3; the firm's assets are hacked over a dozen times by Anons and unknown parties, causing a month-long shutdown of the Playstation gaming network and massive financial losses to the company. Ryan Cleary, an administrator of the AnonOps server, seizes control of the gathering venue and releases info on dozens of users after a dispute with other key figures, but is later arrested himself in England.
The small group of Anons who carried out the HBGary hack break away from Anonymous and begin operating under the banner of Lulzsec, which spends two months making constant headlines with a variety of hacks and an inimitable sense of humor. Fox News and PBS are infiltrated and fake stories uploaded to their websites; an intelligence contractor's e-mails are stolen and distributed; dozens of other companies and government agencies are attacked and compromised in some way, generally with releases of info made after each hit. Lulzsec members Topiary, Tflow, and Kayla (sort of) are eventually arrested, member Avunit quits, member Sabu returns to Anonymous.
The Antisec movement, composed in large part of Anons and put into motion by Lulzsec, prompts months of attacks on the white hat world and establishment targets. Booz Allen Hamilton, NATO, Mantech, Vanguard Defense Industries, and other entities are hacked followed by distribution of info from each. Both Lulzsec and Antisec are widely decried by others in Anonymous due to their widespread release of personal information.
14 Americans are charged for allegedly having participated in the DDOS of PayPal the previous December; all plead not guilty. Other arrests take place in U.S., U.K, The Netherlands, Spain, and elsewhere.
Chapter Seven: Ongoing events, Conclusion
Many Anons and admirers start their own sub-groups with varying intents. Texas police servers are hacked and e-mails released indicating various forms of misconduct. OpBart is launched in protest of the killing of a homeless man by Bay Area Rapid Transit Police, leading to ongoing protests and other actions against San Francisco's public transportation authorities. The occupation of Wall Street by Anonymous and a collection of sympathetic groups begins on September 17th after months of planning.
The final chapter will include ongoing events and additional notable operations occurring between September 2011 and January 2012. Broadly speaking, the remainder of the chapter will deal with emerging trends and tendencies with the culture while also resolving questions brought up previously. Depending on the timing and outcome of ongoing legal issues, it may end with a resolution of the criminal cases against those who were raided and later charged for their role in DDOSing Paypal.