Well, some of those darling little hacktivists at Anonymous are already gearing up to celebrate their favorite holiday, the fifth of November, the date made famous as Guy Fawkes Night and referenced so heavily in the dystopian comic book series V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.
In a YouTube video and statement claiming that hackers will attack and destroy the social medium Facebook on November 5th, Anonymous cites Facebook's lack of privacy and selling of its members' personal information as central reasons for the coordinated Big Hack Attack. And by publicly (and theatrically) announcing the attack in advance instead of simply doing it covertly, Anonymous gets a nice bit of internet discourse, media punditry and perhaps a tiny bit of fear and anarchy that the fictional character V would probably find highly amusing.
Interestingly, though, there appears to be possible dissension within the ranks concerning this particular operation, if this Twitter post by @anonops is any indication: "#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it."
Anonymous has been utilizing imagery and concepts from V For Vendetta as symbolism for its anti-authority activties for some time now. Ever since the 2006 film adaptation of the comic book series by the Wachowski Brothers, V For Vendetta has gradually entered the mainstream consciousness and this latest announcement of a "Remember, remember, the fifth of November" style cyber assault on Facebook should only add to that.
Here's Anonymous' video and expanded statement taken from Mashable...
Attention citizens of the world,We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows: Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your "privacy" settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you "delete" your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more "private" is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family.
http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.html
http://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iphone/
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It's unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don't understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of you. When a service is "free," it really means they're making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us
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