Two self-styled ‘hacktivists’ have been jailed for carrying out cyber attacks for the Anonymous hacking group.
Christopher Weatherhead and Ashley Rhodes took part in a ‘persistent campaign’ designed to ‘cause damage, financial losses and press exposure’.
They are thought to be the first convicted for distributed denial of service attacks, which paralyse computer systems by flooding them with online requests.
One strike on PayPal cost the online payment website £3.5million. Mastercard and Visa were also targeted.
At Southwark crown court, Weatherhead, 22, of Northampton, was jailed for 18 months, while 28-year-old Rhodes, of Camberwell, south London, was given seven months.
A judge heard targets were chosen by Anonymous as part of an ideological campaign called Operation Payback. They first targeted companies involved in anti-piracy and digital rights before switching to payment sites that would not process donations to groups raising funds for WikiLeaks.
Victims’ websites would be directed to a page with the message: ‘You angered the hive and now you are being stung.’
The website of singer Lily Allen was suggested as a possible target but the attack never went ahead.
Judge Peter Testar said: ‘It is intolerable that when an individual or a group disagrees with a particular entity’s activities they should be free to curtail that activity by means of attacks such as those which took place in this case.’
Peter Gibson, 24, of Hartlepool, was given a six-month suspended jail term, while Jake Birchall, 18, from Chester, will be sentenced next month.
Christopher Weatherhead and Ashley Rhodes took part in a ‘persistent campaign’ designed to ‘cause damage, financial losses and press exposure’.
They are thought to be the first convicted for distributed denial of service attacks, which paralyse computer systems by flooding them with online requests.
One strike on PayPal cost the online payment website £3.5million. Mastercard and Visa were also targeted.
At Southwark crown court, Weatherhead, 22, of Northampton, was jailed for 18 months, while 28-year-old Rhodes, of Camberwell, south London, was given seven months.
A judge heard targets were chosen by Anonymous as part of an ideological campaign called Operation Payback. They first targeted companies involved in anti-piracy and digital rights before switching to payment sites that would not process donations to groups raising funds for WikiLeaks.
Victims’ websites would be directed to a page with the message: ‘You angered the hive and now you are being stung.’
The website of singer Lily Allen was suggested as a possible target but the attack never went ahead.
Judge Peter Testar said: ‘It is intolerable that when an individual or a group disagrees with a particular entity’s activities they should be free to curtail that activity by means of attacks such as those which took place in this case.’
Peter Gibson, 24, of Hartlepool, was given a six-month suspended jail term, while Jake Birchall, 18, from Chester, will be sentenced next month.
Source : Metro
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