Anonymous Update 2021

 

The hactivist collective Anonymous says that it has gained access to a massive trove of data from Epik, the web host and domain registrar for a variety of right-wing sites. Epik’s client list has reportedly ranged from more mainstream conservative groups like the Texas Republican Party to Gab and other far-right sites on the fringes of the internet.

On September 14th, 2021... Claire Goforth, writing for the Daily Dot, reported that in a press release, Anonymous says that it has captured “a decade’s worth of data” from Epik. They say the data includes domain registrations, domain transfers, passwords, account credentials for all of Epik’s customers, logins, more than a half-million private keys, payment history, a “dump of an employee’s mailbox, just because we could,” and more. Of the private keys, they wrote, “What are they for? Who knows!”

“This dataset is all that’s needed to trace actual ownership and management of the fascist side of the Internet that has eluded researchers, activists, and, well, just about everybody,” they said.

“And maybe have a little extra fun. For the lulz.”

The release also asks people to support both hackers themselves and Operation Jane, an initiative the collective recently launched in protest of Texas’ abortion ban. As part of the latter effort, over the weekend, Anonymous hacked and defaced the Texas Republican Party website.

 David Obelcz, writing for Malcontent News, said that an examination of the Epik Software data released by Anonymous has security experts concluding the claims made by the shadowy organization are true, and it will be a devastating blow. “This is the Panama Papers for hate groups,” a researcher told us after reviewing just part of the 180GB of information retrieved. “In all my years, I have never seen a breach of a domain registrar to this scale. The lack of security to protect this information is breathtaking.”

You can read Obelcz's full article here.

For more background information on the Texas shenanigans, check out my cynically infused post... The Shadow Docket.

Watch this space... as the Culture Wars continue to virally expand...

In related news... Happy 10th anniversary Occupy Wallstreet!

Part Two