clydeiii/cybersecurity · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Copyright
2008 Jason Fritz
spoofing those sites to redirect traffic to pro-Georgian news sources (Coleman 2008; Griggs
2008). Georgian officials asserted that the Russian military was behind the attacks, but they
could not provide concrete evidence. Regardless, it represents a new aspect to warfare that
must be taken into account. Patriotic cyber attacks may now accompany all traditional wars.
If this is not shaped according to government objectives, it runs the risk of undermining
operations. For example, patriotic cyber attacks could damage soft power, they could incite
damaging retaliatory attacks, and they could drag state powers into conflict.
Chanology
China may wish to tap into the power of a broader range of internet users, those who are not
government sponsored, nor skilled hackers, yet have wide-ranging knowledge of the internet
through frequent use. In one view:
I've always argued that I do not believe the patriotic hackers are dedicated government
agents, but I do believe that they are treated as useful idiots by the Chinese regime, and that
the Chinese regime has figured out a rough method, using the propaganda apparatus, to
shape the behavior of these patriotic hacker groups, many of whom are getting older and
going from black hat to gray hat to white hat, and they want wives and jobs and houses, and
the only way to get certified as an information security professional in China is to be certified
by the ministries of public and state security. (China
s Proliferation Practices, and the
Development of Its Cyber and Space Warfare Capabilities 2008)
A powerful array of tools is openly available to anyone with an internet connection, and they
require little effort to learn. Free web-space, image and video uploading sites, such as blogs,
Flickr and YouTube, give anyone with an internet connection multimedia sharing tools that
rival traditional media. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Digg, provide
additional means to spread this information to a massive audience which, given enough
popularity, draws in the traditional media as well. China can use propaganda and PSYOPs to
influence this crowd, using it as a political tool. For example, it can be used to organise
protest and cyber attacks denouncing Japan
s lack of remorse for WWII atrocities, to criticize
Falun Gong followers, or to rally support for the One China Policy (Faiola 2005). Project
Chanology gives insight into how these non-hacker internet users can come together towards
a common goal of disruption using the rapid growth of available internet capabilities. It also
illustrates a growing need to understand these emergent communities as they pose a nontraditional security threat.
Project Chanology was a series of cyber attacks and real life protests organised over the
internet against the Church of Scientology (CoS). The CoS is the largest organization
devoted to the practice and promotion of the Scientology belief system. They are often
criticized as being a cult which tries to exploit people for financial gain. A loose group of
internet users named Anonymous orchestrated attacks against the CoS using multiple image
boards, such as 4chan, 7chan, 12chan, 420chan, and 711chan, as well as supplementary
wikis, IRC channels, YouTube, Facebook, Slashdot, Digg, and Encyclopaedia Dramatica.
Users of the channels are collectively known as Anonymous, or anon, due to the website
use of anonymous posting; however their internet networks extend beyond the image boards.
A large and diverse population of internet users identify with the name Anonymous, many
having differing viewpoints and objectives. This point is often lost on the media, who
mistakenly believe Anonymous represents a cohesive group. Anonymous is connected, but
the nodes which connect each member are not the same, and therefore they do not all rally to
the same cause.
Culture Mandala, Vol. 8, No. 1, October 2008, pp.28-80
Copyright
2008 Jason Fritz
Project Chanology was officially launched in the form of a video posted on YouTube on
January 21, 2008. The video stated that the attacks where in response to Scientology
internet censorship, dubious recruitment tactics, saturating of disaster areas to
help
victims,
and overall belief system. Of particular contention was Scientology
s forced removal of a
leaked Tom Cruise video interview, in which he expounded his love for Scientology.
Additional complaints against the CoS include the removal of leaked Scientology belief
documents (part of a 10-year legal battle against Karin Spaink and several ISPs), and the
attempted removal of the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology from Usenet, which led the
hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow to declare war on the Church of Scientology as early as
1995. Anonymous
s stated intent was to
expel the church from the internet
and to
save
people from Scientology by reversing the brainwashing
. This was followed by DDoS
attacks, black faxes, prank calls, false deliveries to CoS buildings, the dissemination of
Church leaders personal information (telephone numbers, social security numbers, and
addresses), and the publishing of the contended leaked material on a wide range of websites.
Project Chanology members grew to approximately 9,000 people. They successfully took
down the Scientology website on January 18, 2008 with a mid-range DDoS attack. By
comparison a botnet can launch a simultaneous attack from 50,000 computers. Nonetheless,
Anonymous managed to cripple the Scientology website for a period of two weeks. In
response to the attacks, the CoS moved its internet domain to a more secure provider. The
original declaration of war video, which utilized a synthesized voice, was viewed over two
million times within 18 days of its release. Project Chanology garnered mainstream media
coverage on an international scale. Mainstream media
s attention created an unintended
DDoS attack by drawing more attention to the CoS website. Anonymous further raised
questions about Scientology
s actions, including the death of Lisa McPherson, a scientologist
who died in 1995, for which the CoS was previously under federal investigation.
Anonymous used a Google bomb technique to make the Scientology.org website the first
result in a Google search for
dangerous cult
(McMillan 2008; O
Connell 2008; Vamosi
2008; Cook 2008; Single 2008; Ramadge 2008; The Passion of Anonymous 2008).
Utilizing a wide range of online communication tools, and a new YouTube video titled
Call
to Action
, Anonymous coordinated a series of protests. In the video anon states:
We have
no leaders, no single entity directing us.
On February 10, 2008, approximately 7,000 people

Copyright

2008 Jason Fritz

spoofing those sites to redirect traffic to pro-Georgian news sources (Coleman 2008; Griggs

2008). Georgian officials asserted that the Russian military was behind the attacks, but they

could not provide concrete evidence. Regardless, it represents a new aspect to warfare that

must be taken into account. Patriotic cyber attacks may now accompany all traditional wars.

If this is not shaped according to government objectives, it runs the risk of undermining

operations. For example, patriotic cyber attacks could damage soft power, they could incite

damaging retaliatory attacks, and they could drag state powers into conflict.

Chanology

China may wish to tap into the power of a broader range of internet users, those who are not

government sponsored, nor skilled hackers, yet have wide-ranging knowledge of the internet

through frequent use. In one view:

I've always argued that I do not believe the patriotic hackers are dedicated government

agents, but I do believe that they are treated as useful idiots by the Chinese regime, and that

the Chinese regime has figured out a rough method, using the propaganda apparatus, to

shape the behavior of these patriotic hacker groups, many of whom are getting older and

going from black hat to gray hat to white hat, and they want wives and jobs and houses, and

the only way to get certified as an information security professional in China is to be certified

by the ministries of public and state security. (China

s Proliferation Practices, and the

Development of Its Cyber and Space Warfare Capabilities 2008)

A powerful array of tools is openly available to anyone with an internet connection, and they

require little effort to learn. Free web-space, image and video uploading sites, such as blogs,

Flickr and YouTube, give anyone with an internet connection multimedia sharing tools that

rival traditional media. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Digg, provide

additional means to spread this information to a massive audience which, given enough

popularity, draws in the traditional media as well. China can use propaganda and PSYOPs to

influence this crowd, using it as a political tool. For example, it can be used to organise

protest and cyber attacks denouncing Japan

s lack of remorse for WWII atrocities, to criticize

Falun Gong followers, or to rally support for the One China Policy (Faiola 2005). Project

Chanology gives insight into how these non-hacker internet users can come together towards

a common goal of disruption using the rapid growth of available internet capabilities. It also

illustrates a growing need to understand these emergent communities as they pose a nontraditional security threat.

Project Chanology was a series of cyber attacks and real life protests organised over the

internet against the Church of Scientology (CoS). The CoS is the largest organization

devoted to the practice and promotion of the Scientology belief system. They are often

criticized as being a cult which tries to exploit people for financial gain. A loose group of

internet users named Anonymous orchestrated attacks against the CoS using multiple image

boards, such as 4chan, 7chan, 12chan, 420chan, and 711chan, as well as supplementary

wikis, IRC channels, YouTube, Facebook, Slashdot, Digg, and Encyclopaedia Dramatica.

Users of the channels are collectively known as Anonymous, or anon, due to the website

use of anonymous posting; however their internet networks extend beyond the image boards.

A large and diverse population of internet users identify with the name Anonymous, many

having differing viewpoints and objectives. This point is often lost on the media, who

mistakenly believe Anonymous represents a cohesive group. Anonymous is connected, but

the nodes which connect each member are not the same, and therefore they do not all rally to

the same cause.

Culture Mandala, Vol. 8, No. 1, October 2008, pp.28-80

Copyright

2008 Jason Fritz

Project Chanology was officially launched in the form of a video posted on YouTube on

January 21, 2008. The video stated that the attacks where in response to Scientology

internet censorship, dubious recruitment tactics, saturating of disaster areas to

help

victims,

and overall belief system. Of particular contention was Scientology

s forced removal of a

leaked Tom Cruise video interview, in which he expounded his love for Scientology.

Additional complaints against the CoS include the removal of leaked Scientology belief

documents (part of a 10-year legal battle against Karin Spaink and several ISPs), and the

attempted removal of the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology from Usenet, which led the

hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow to declare war on the Church of Scientology as early as

1995. Anonymous

s stated intent was to

expel the church from the internet

and to

save

people from Scientology by reversing the brainwashing

. This was followed by DDoS

attacks, black faxes, prank calls, false deliveries to CoS buildings, the dissemination of

Church leaders personal information (telephone numbers, social security numbers, and

addresses), and the publishing of the contended leaked material on a wide range of websites.

Project Chanology members grew to approximately 9,000 people. They successfully took

down the Scientology website on January 18, 2008 with a mid-range DDoS attack. By

comparison a botnet can launch a simultaneous attack from 50,000 computers. Nonetheless,

Anonymous managed to cripple the Scientology website for a period of two weeks. In

response to the attacks, the CoS moved its internet domain to a more secure provider. The

original declaration of war video, which utilized a synthesized voice, was viewed over two

million times within 18 days of its release. Project Chanology garnered mainstream media

coverage on an international scale. Mainstream media

s attention created an unintended

DDoS attack by drawing more attention to the CoS website. Anonymous further raised

questions about Scientology

s actions, including the death of Lisa McPherson, a scientologist

who died in 1995, for which the CoS was previously under federal investigation.

Anonymous used a Google bomb technique to make the Scientology.org website the first

result in a Google search for

dangerous cult

(McMillan 2008; O

Connell 2008; Vamosi

2008; Cook 2008; Single 2008; Ramadge 2008; The Passion of Anonymous 2008).

Utilizing a wide range of online communication tools, and a new YouTube video titled

Call

to Action

, Anonymous coordinated a series of protests. In the video anon states:

We have

no leaders, no single entity directing us.

On February 10, 2008, approximately 7,000 people