14 DAY TRIAL // The UK Computer Emergency Response Team (GovCertUK) has taken Anonymous DDoS threats very seriously and has advised government departments to prepare to defend their websites.
"We would like to make you aware of a threat issued by the Anonymous group in reaction to the five arrests made yesterday by the Metropolitan Police.
"The threat was directed towards the UK government in an open letter by Anonymous on their website. This has since been circulated around many open source websites. "In light of this threat we would advise you to be vigilant against any new signs of DDoS activity you may encounter, and to notify us if such activity occurs," GovCertUK wrote in a memo, according to The Register.
Following the arrest of five males on Thursday by the Metropolitan Police Service's Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) under the suspicion of participating in Anonymous DDoS attacks against PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and others, the hackticvist group published an open letter online demanding their immediate release.
The group, known for its strong anti-censorship and anti-copyright views, claims that distributed denial of service attacks are no different than peaceful methods of protest such as sit-ins, the blocking of crossroads or the picketing of factory fences.
"Just as is the case with traditional forms of protest, we block access to our opponents infrastructure to get our message across. Whether or not this infrastructure is located in the real world or in cyberspace, seems completely irrelevant to us," the group writes.
It goes on to criticize the harsh punishments for DDoS, which can reach up to ten years imprisonment and £5000 fines and seems completely disproportionate to the damage caused by a minor offence.
The letter warns the UK government that it cannot arrest an ideology and that by detaining protesters it declares war on the citizens of the world. Meanwhile, the five suspects have been released on bail until April.