Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Griefers Assault Epileptics Via Message Board

Posted by kdawson on from the not-funny-mcgee dept.

An anonymous reader tips us to a story up at Wired reporting on what may be the first computer attack to inflict physical harm on victims. Last Saturday, griefers posted hundreds of bogus messages on the support forums of the nonprofit Epilepsy Foundation that used JavaScript and strobing GIFs to trigger migraines and seizures in users. For about 3% of the 50 million epileptics worldwide, flashing lights and colors can trigger seizures. "'I don't fall over and convulse, but it hurts,' says [an IT worker in Ohio]. 'I was on the phone when it happened, and I couldn't move and couldn't speak.' ... Circumstantial evidence suggests the attack was the work of members of Anonymous, an informal collective of griefers best known for their recent war on the Church of Scientology. The first flurry of posts on the epilepsy forum referenced the site EBaumsWorld, which is much hated by Anonymous. And forum members claim they found a message board thread — since deleted — planning the attack at 7chan.org, a group stronghold."

8 of 621 comments (clear)

  1. Redundant. by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why did they go through all that trouble? They could have simply redirected 'em to Myspace.

  2. In future news... by Spartan+Niner · · Score: 5, Funny

    Newbie griefers pretending to by Anonymous are caught posting from IP addresses associated with Scientology.

  3. I heard that Anonymous posts here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that true?

  4. Chill dude by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't recall ever having strobing marching penises coming out of the monitor at me when I read usenet all those years...

    Obviously you were just in the wrong newsgroups.

  5. Dude, by DancesWithBlowTorch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe this is how Anon rolls on 7chan, but the Anon of 4chan simply does not work like this. Perhaps someone encouraged them, but usually such an idea would be met with accusations of using /b/ as a personal army.
    What the hell are you talking about?

    Man, I thought I was 1337, but it seems those days are gone. Great, now what am I going to do when my dad finds out I don't understand the internet anymore?
  6. Re:Sickening by vertinox · · Score: 4, Funny

    Given how trivial it was to conduct this attack,

    Did someone forget to disable the [img][/img] tags on their PHPBB forum?

    To be fair, imagine what Slashdot would look like if you could post images.

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
  7. Re:Smear campaign by Scientology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are you effing kidding me? Discredit Anonymous?

    Have you ever BEEN to 4chan or 7chan?

  8. Re:Cruel and unusual by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    To disable animation in lynx you go to ... uh... carry on.