Anonymous a threat to critical infrastructure? Expert says no

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.canada.com/news/national/Anonymous+threat+critical+infrastructure+Expert+says/7734843/story.html

By Jordan Press
Postmedia News
December 21, 2012

OTTAWA -- One year ago, three federal security agencies focused their 
eyes on Anonymous. One labelled the collective the modern face of 
hacktivism. Another warned Anonymous could soon have the ability to take 
down critical infrastructure such as water systems and the electricity 
grid.

The reports were written at a time when it was easier to study and 
understand how members of the collective operated.

A year later, Anonymous members have gone deeper underground. The arrest 
of Jeremy Hammond, who faces life in prison for his alleged role in 
leaking credit card information and internal emails from security firm 
Strategic Forecasting Inc., and the hacker-turned-informant Hector 
Xavier Monsegur, have forced hacker groups that form part of the 
Anonymous collective to become “more scattered and secretive,” said 
Gabriella Coleman, an international expert on Anonymous from McGill 
University.

“They’re the type of phenomena that can slip away, vanish and recede,” 
Coleman said. “On the other hand, everything is in place for other 
strong strings of attacks because it doesn’t take long to bring them 
(anons) into being.”

[...]

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