Was the AntiSec hacking spree an FBI front?
Shortly after the formation of LulzSec, an even more brazen project was launched called AntiSec. It went after cops, defense contractors, the FTC, the FBI and federal attorneys. But now we know that AntiSec happened after LulzSec leader Sabu was taken in and turned by the FBI. So was AntiSec an FBI front to try and trap Anonymous and LulzSec hackers?
YourAnonNews, the largest quasi-official Twitter entity (and group mouthpiece) for Anonymous, recently pieced together a timeline they say makes the case: “#AntiSec [was] Created and Operated Under FBI Supervision,” with Sabu acting as internet agent provocateur. His long con, they say, was to rally the riffraff who worshipped him, herd them into chatrooms monitored by the feds, and encourage self-incrimination—he was a hacker working from an FBI office on an FBI computer to do its bidding.
The sequence of events is simple. A couple weeks after his arrest in early June, Sabu returns from a long Twitter hiatus—to announce the formation of AntiSec: “The biggest, unified operation amongst hackers in history. All factions welcome. We are one"—along with a manifesto:
Welcome to Operation Anti-Security (#AntiSec) - we encourage any vessel, large or small, to open fire on any government or agency that crosses their path. We fully endorse the flaunting of the word "AntiSec” on any government website defacement or physical graffiti art. We encourage you to spread the word of AntiSec far and wide, for it will be remembered. To increase efforts, we are now teaming up with the Anonymous collective and all affiliated battleships.
Top priority is to steal and leak any classified government information, including email spools and documentation. Prime targets are banks and other high-ranking establishments.
Two months later, Sabu entered a plea bargain, reducing his sentence to a maximum of over 100 years (!) in exchange for his full cooperation with police, as well as—get this—the promise to “commit no further crimes whatsoever.”
What, then, accounts for the next half a year he spent ostensibly committing and encouraging crimes? The timeline shows it all:
22 August 2011 - ANTISEC releases 1GB of personal data fromVanguard Defense Industries, a Texas-based aerospace and defense firm
26 October 2011 - SABU calls on ANTISEC and other hackers worldwide to respond to police…and to visit the #ANTISEC channel in Anonops IRC
18 November 2011 - To protest police brutality at Occupy, ANTISEC (1) hacks and dumps International Association of Chiefs of Police and (2) defaces Boston, Massachusets Police website
24-26 December 2011 - As part of LulzXmas festivities, ANTISEC claim hack of USglobal thinktank Stratfor. 860,000 e-mail addresses, 75,000 unencrypted credit card numbers stolen and later released publicly
3 February 2012 - ANTISEC defaces site of Puckett and Faraj law firmto protest Haditha massacre verdict. Law firm mail is leaked
3 February 2012 - ANTISEC releases an intercepted FBI conference call on Anonymous investigation
17 February 2012 - ANTISEC hacks and pwns FTC websites
All of these acts Sabu either directly participated in or was cheerleading online, ferrying his followers into FBI surveillance, setting up thousands of Anonymous devotees for attacks he—and the government—knew about before their victims. We know that during this time, on these exact days, he was not only cooperating with the FBI, he was following their orders.
Notes