Anonymous targets OnGuardOnline.gov to protest against SOPA

A few days ago, it was reported that, in retaliation to the FBI taking down MegaUpload, Anonymous took down the websites of the FBI and that of the United States Department of Justice. Anonymous is back at it again and have hacked OnGuardOnline.gov, a U.S government's anti-scam website, this time. This hack was done as a sign of protest against two bills in the U.S Congress, along with an international treaty signed by the United States and 14 other countries. A post on Twitter, by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which runs OnGuardOnline.gov stated that their partnership site was hacked and that they take this malicious act seriously. In a follow up tweet they stated that the site was taken offline and would be brought back up once they were satisfied that the vulnerability has been addressed. 

Anonymous continues their high profile hacks

Anonymous has taken the responsibility for the website hack, and have added that it was their AntiSec wing that brought it down. In a Pastebin post, Anonymous stated, “If SOPA/PIPA/ACTA passes we will wage a relentless war against the corporate internet, destroying dozens upon dozens of government and company websites. As you are reading this we are amassing our allied armies of darkness, preparing boatloads of stolen booty for our next raid. We are sitting on hundreds of rooted servers getting ready to drop all your mysql dumps and mail spools. Your passwords? Your precious bank accounts? Even your online dating details?! You ain’t even trying to step to this.”

According to a report by TechSpot, the collective group of hackers had also planned to take down Sony on Monday. Sony lending their co-operation to SOPA, reportedly triggered the motive and at precisely the same time of the planned attack, Sony had taken their own website down for routine maintenance.

For those not in the know, SOPA and PIPA are online bills that were being discussed at length in the U.S with an aim to crack down online piracy. This has been supported by the music industry as well as various governments from around the world. Let us know your reactions about Anonymous continuing to target high profile websites in retaliation of SOPA and PIPA and do you think their actions are justified?