Anonymous Hacks USSC.gov with a Flair for the Dramatic

Anonymous took control of the U.S. Sentencing Commission website Friday, January 25 in a new campaign called “Operation Last Resort.” By 3am PST ussc.gov was down (it has since been dropped from the DNS). All of this in retaliation for what they call the “killing” of Aaron Swartz.

Citizens of the world,
Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined. We have seen the erosion of due process, the dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful authority of courts by the “discretion” or prosecutors. We have seen how the law is wielded less and less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain. – Message placed on ussc.gov

It appears that via the U.S. government website, Anonymous had distributed encrypted government files and left a statement on the website that de-encryption keys would be publicly released (thus releasing the as-yet unkonwn information held on the stolen files) if the U.S. government did not comply with Anonymous’ ultimatum demands for legal reform. Anonymous has not specified exactly what files they have obtained. The various files were named after Supreme Court judges. (ZDNet)

Whether or not you understand any of the details–and regardless of your opinions of Anonymous–you have to give them an “A” for some top quality video propaganda. I hope you find this as amusing as I do… This is so nerd-tastic.