We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency

Parmy Olson

Jun 2012 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

A thrilling, exclusive exposè of the hacker collectives Anonymous and LulzSec.

We Are Anonymous is the first full account of how a loosely assembled group of hackers scattered across the globe formed a new kind of insurgency, seized headlines, and tortured the feds -- and the ultimate betrayal that would eventually bring them down. Parmy Olson goes behind the headlines and into the world of Anonymous and LulzSec with unprecedented access, drawing upon hundreds of conversations with the hackers themselves, including exclusive interviews with all six core members of LulzSec.

In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Other targets were wide ranging: the websites of corporations from Sony Entertainment and Fox to the Vatican and the Church of Scientology were hacked, defaced, and embarrassed, and the message was that no one was safe. Thousands of user accounts from pornography websites were released, exposing government employees and military personnel.

Although some attacks were perpetrated by masses of users who were rallied on the message boards of 4Chan, many others were masterminded by a small, tight-knit group of hackers who formed a splinter group of Anonymous called LulzSec. The legend of Anonymous and LulzSec grew in the wake of each ambitious hack. But how were they penetrating intricate corporate security systems? Were they anarchists or activists? Teams or lone wolves? A cabal of skilled hackers or a disorganized bunch of kids?

We Are Anonymous delves deep into the internet's underbelly to tell the incredible full story of the global cyber insurgency movement, and its implications for the future of computer security.

Ratings and reviews

A remarkable look into a world I only heard whispers about! Had to continually remind myself that this was non-fiction bc even though it contains jargon that could either lose the reader, or take to long to explain, the story of was amazingly riveting and only more exciting bc of the attention to explaining the technical side!

A deeper dive into the people, particularly the primary members, who make up Anonymous. This, and Gabriella Coleman's "Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistle Blower, Spy", perfectly compliment each other and I recommend both books for anyone interested in or researching Annonymous.

I'm easily bored by book, but let me just say this book was awesome. Loved this book!

About the author

Parmy Olson is the London Bureau Chief for Forbes Magazine.