14 DAY TRIAL // A group of hacktivists apparently affiliated with Anonymous, called the ATeam, has launched distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks on the sites owned by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, and Theresa May, member of parliament for Maidenhead.
TechWeek Europe reveals that the attacks are a form of protest against the extradition agreements between the US and the UK, but also the Leverson Inquiry, which the hackers believe is inefficient when it comes to punishing media organizations involved in data breaches.
The extradition case of individuals such as Gary McKinnon and Richard O’Dwyer are not the only reasons behind the operation. The ICO has become a target because the online activists hold the organization responsible for failing to protect privacy.
The monitoring law confirmed during the Queen’s speech also raises a lot of concern among the hackers, which is why they will continue to protest against it.
ICO representatives failed to confirm that their website was taken down on Sunday and Monday as a result of a cyberattack. On the other hand, a spokesman for Theresa May MP confirmed that a DDOS attack forced the site to go offline.
The hacktivsts claim that this is not the end of their operation, a number of targets being appointed for the upcoming period, including the site of the Leverson Inquiry, Home Office and the Supreme Court.
This particular group is somewhat different from others, even though its name and its way of handling things hint that they share the views of Anonymous (ATeam comes from Anonymous Team). One of the members told TechWeek that their crew consisted of 10 people, their average age being around 40, which makes them much older than other Anons.
Currently, the three sites are online, but the one of the ICO seems to be experiencing some performance issues.