10 Times Anonymous Saved The Day

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1: ANONYMOUS VERSUS HAL TURNER

American radio host Hal Turner was well known for being a white supremacist and Holocaust denier. As a result of him spreading racist ideology, Anonymous decided to take him down. In December 2006 the hackers took Turner’s website offline, costing him thousands of dollars in bandwidth bills. Although the radio presenter tried to take out an injunction against Anonymous, he was ultimately unsuccessful.
Sources: The Star-Ledger, Wired, Free Republic.

2: ANONYMOUS VERSUS CHINESE CYBER ATTACKERS

In 2011 the US was targeted by a number of cyber attackers. They compromised the email accounts of important government officials and jeopardised national security. The identities of the hackers were later traced back to the Chinese military, mostly thanks to the input of Anonymous. The online activists had hacked a major forum being used by the Chinese attackers and succeeded in collecting the data of 40,000 of its members. They passed this information onto American security firm Mandiant, which was able to use it to tailor its defences against the threat.
Sources: The Economist, Fortune, Hackers News Bulletin.

3: ANONYMOUS VERSUS IRANIAN CENSORSHIP

The 2009 Iranian presidential elections were the subject of much controversy; major protests resulted from suspicions of vote rigging by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [makh-mood akh-meh-dinn-eh-jad]. The Iranian government quickly sought to censor news about the riots online, to prohibit international aid for the demonstrators. Angered by this censorship, Anonymous worked with Iranian hackers to create a site called Anonymous Iran, which drew in over 22,000 supporters worldwide. Although the protests were eventually quelled, the hackers’ work was instrumental in allowing the uninhibited exchange of information between Iran and the world.
Sources: BBC, The Atlantic, The Economist.

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4: ANONYMOUS VERSUS UGANDAN HOMOPHOBIA

Despite an estimated gay community of 500,000 people, homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. Those caught can face life imprisonment. In 2012, Anonymous wrote a message on the Ugandan prime minister’s website saying that the ‘violations of the rights of LGBT people have disgusted us.' They also made a post on the site recognizing Gay Pride Week. While homophobia is still rife in Uganda, Anonymous’ actions have been heralded as a step towards increasing awareness of LGBT people’s plight. Sources: Advocate, Think Progress, Huffington Post.

5: ANONYMOUS VERSUS NIGERIAN POVERTY

In 2012 the Nigerian government removed a fuel subsidy, which was essential for the impoverished population to be able to afford transportation. Beginning in January 2013, Anonymous - along with the People’s Liberation Front and the Naija Cyber Hacktivists of Nigeria - launched a relentless campaign of revenge against the Nigerian government. They hacked the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission website and threatened to leak sensitive information if government officials did not move to address the issues of poverty, illiteracy, and poor healthcare in the country.
Sources: Anonymous Nigeria, International Business Times, Hackread.

6: ANONYMOUS VERSUS THE JUDGE ROTENBERG CENTER

The Judge Rotenberg Center is a Massachusetts school which claims to treat conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The school is known for using cruel and inhuman methods, such as withholding food and administering electric shocks 20 times more powerful than police tasers. Five children are known to have died at the school. In 2012, Anonymous hacked the center’s website and publicly posted online the names and addresses of its founder, principal, sponsors, and supporters. It is hoped that such publicity will put pressure on the school to abandon its aggressive behavior modification techniques.
Sources: CBS News, The Guardian, Business Week.

7: ANONYMOUS VERSUS THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH

The Westboro Baptist Church is an organization known for its hate speech, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. The church infamously protests at celebrity funerals and public events. When in December 2012 they announced their intentions to picket the funerals for the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Anonymous decided to take action. Despite the church asserting that their website was divinely protected, the hackers were quickly able to attack it. They posted the names, addresses, and emails of prominent members online and issued a warning against further antagonization. Due to public outcry, the church did not picket the children’s funerals.
Sources: Dangerous Minds, New York Daily News, NBC News.

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8: ANONYMOUS VERSUS ISIS

Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, in which terrorists brutally murdered 130 people, Anonymous announced on Twitter that they are at war with Daesh, the disrespectful name referring to the so-called Islamic State. Since then, they have hacked numerous ISIS-related websites and also identified and helped close down more than 3,000 Twitter accounts affiliated with the terrorist group. In December 2015 Anonymous announced that they had already foiled an ISIS attack being plotted against Italy. They also released a guide aiming to help others fight ISIS online.
Sources: International Business Times, Independent, Scientific American.

9: ANONYMOUS VERSUS ELECTION FIXING

During the 2012 American presidential elections, Anonymous released a video. It referenced suspicions that Republican strategist Karl Rove was planning to cheat the election in Mitt Romney’s favor. When Obama’s victory was announced on the 6th November, Rove had an on-air meltdown, refusing to believe the outcome. His response added fuel to the theory that he had been certain of different results in swing states such as Ohio. Shortly afterward, the hacking group announced that they had created a firewall aimed to prevent vote tampering, nicknamed The Great Oz.
Sources: Truth Out, Newsweek.

10: ANONYMOUS VERSUS LOLITA CITY

One of the noblest causes of the online vigilantes is their vendetta against distributors of child pornography. In 2011 they hacked into and took down over 40 child pornography websites, including one of the largest known offenders - Lolita City. They then posted account details of its 1589 users online and passed on their information to the police for them to conduct further investigations. Anonymous were not universally praised for their actions, however. Experts condemned the attacks for jeopardizing ongoing investigations and risking tainting evidence.
Sources: BBC, Teek Week Europe, Telegraph.