Anonymous Threatens New York Stock Exchange Attack
Calls for distributed denial-of-service attack as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
A video that purports to be from the Anonymous hacktivist collective has called for a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack to be launched against the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
"On October 10, NYSE shall be erased from the Internet, expect a day that will never, ever, be forgotten," according to a
"message to the people" video posted to the AnonMessage YouTube channel on Friday. As with previous Anonymous communications, the video sports stirring music, stark visuals, and narration by a disembodied, synthesized voice. It also proposes using the
Low-Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) DDoS tool, which is an open source network stress testing application, as "an option," but recommends that users "anonymize" themselves first. It also says that "we will have other (more powerful) means of taking down NYSE."
The FBI said it's investigating the Anonymous call to online arms. "The FBI is aware of these schemes and threats and is looking into the matter," FBI spokesman Tim Flannelly told
FoxNews.com.
[Learn the latest tactics that 'hacktivists' are using. Read WikiLeaks 'Hactivists' Target Fax Machines]
But a post on Tuesday to the AnonOps Twitter feed, which has been a reliable source of information about
Anonymous operations, called into question how many Anonymous members--if any--were planning to attack the NYSE. "We'll say it clear: We won't hack Wall Street. Please FBI invest the resources in better things!"
Likewise, a message posted
to Pastebin under the Anonymous banner also disputed the video's authenticity. "It is a fake planted operation by law enforcement and cyber crime agencies in order to get you to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement," said the post. "You must take all notices and information claiming to be 'Anonymous' with a grain of salt. Consider EVERYTHING."
