Re:
Subject: Re:
From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
Date: 12/2/11, 16:45
To: Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com>

Here you go. I've changed it so that the second chapter includes the bulk of Gregg's story from birth to his arrest, the third chapter begins and continues with his incarceration, release, and introduction to the nascent Anonymous culture, and, as noted, further chapters will expand on events mentioned in chapter two while sometimes including new ones, with such things being integrated in at those points where they may be relevant to the Anonymous narrative.

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 they’re 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 collective’s 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: Why Nobody Used to Care


Housh's formative years are detailed, from his childhood as the son of a career criminal to his own arrest in 2002. In

later chapters, certain of these events will be expanded upon as appropriate when they play into the context of events

occuring within Anonymous.



Chapter Three: 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 Four: 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 Five: 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 Six: 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 Seven: 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 Eight: 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.

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 5:37 AM, Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com> wrote:
I want everything (the outline, e.g.) Sent to me, not to Julia. I need to have it, physically (so to speak), as leverage. So please do create an outline that I can have and hold and talk to Julia about if necessary. Even if it's ultimately similar to the old one. OK?

Dan Conaway
Literary Agent
Writers House

 
From: Barrett Brown [mailto:barriticus@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 03:47 AM
To: Daniel Conaway
Subject: Re:
 
I've finally gotten a general narrative out of Gregg. It's definitely a great story, but I don't see it filling more than one chapter, much less half the book, as Julia seems to want. Even if I could acquire more interesting, usable details from Gregg, I don't think it could be done. Gregg and I have agreed that we can compromise with Julia's intent to have the chapters go back and forth between Gregg and Anon by having the second chapter detail his life and then referencing other parts of his history in later chapters. As such, the outline would be largely the same as the one we've been working with. I'll talk to Julia about this and the outline when you give me the go-ahead; was thinking you wanted us to hold off until you've moved on contract as per your last e-mail.

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 2:39 AM, Daniel Conaway <dconaway@writershouse.com> wrote:
Hey Barrett--

So what's the status of things? The outline (which you guys said would be ready last Monday) and, more generally, the time w Gregg. Was it productive?

Thanks,
Dan

Dan Conaway
Literary Agent
Writers House



--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302



--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302