The hacker group known as Anonymous declared Cyber World War yesterday, attacking a myriad of websites in response to the closing of online file sharing website Megaupload.com in a shocking anti-piracy clamp-down, obviously in response to the public's growing concern over the Stop Online Piracy Act.
Four of Megaupload's operators were arrested yesterday and the site was promptly taken offline. Almost immediately, members of Anonymous began to openly plot an organized attack to shut down sites yesterday evening, targeting recording industry sites BMI, RIAA and Universal Music, which are all three still offline as of early this morning.
They also targeted US Department of Justice as well as the CIA and FBI sites, knocking them offline for several hours yesterday. These sites are currently back up and running.
The hacker collective announced its ominous attentions on Thursday."We Anonymous are launching our largest attack ever on government and music industry sites. Lulz," the group said in a statement posted late Thursday on an associated Twitter account. "The FBI didn't think they would get away with this did they? They should have expected us."
Many people believe the shutdown of Megaupload was the first salvo in a planned federal operation to limit Internet freedoms within the United States. Popular website Wikipedia shut-down for a 24-hour period on Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act currently under consideration in Congress, with thousands of other sites joining the protest. The following day, a large number of Congress members decided not to support the act after the loud and angry public outcry.
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