Police Arrest Five Over Anonymous Attacks

nk497 writes "Five people have been arrested in the UK, accused of taking part in Anonymous' DDOS attacks in support of WikiLeaks. The five men — aged from 15 to 26 — are still being held by police for questioning. Met Police said the investigation was a collaborative effort between forces in the UK, EU and the US."

Comments

Well Duh

[abigsmurf]

The protection this tool offered was designed around the fact that so many people were using it, it'd be impossible to arrest them all. This kinda falls down when there may be 500 Americans on it but just 10 Brits and you're one of the 10.

Also kinda ironic attacking people's freedom to do business with who they want in the name of protecting free speech.

Re:Well Duh

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Also kinda ironic attacking people's freedom to do business with who they want in the name of protecting free speech.

The word for that isn't irony, it's hypocrisy.

Re:Well Duh

[HungryHobo]

"Also kinda ironic attacking people's freedom to do business with who they want in the name of protecting free speech."

some people also protest against companies which help repressive governments with things like the censorship in iran and the great firewall of china.
There's no particular irony here.

It disrupts their freedom to do buisness with who they want no more than picketing the entrance to a store disrupts their freedom to do buisness with who they want.

Re:Well Duh

[serviscope_minor]

oh, yes, isn't it so "ironic" that they're attacking business who are complicit in the government's attempt to circumvent the first amendment by pressuring businesses to "voluntarily" do the censorship for them.

Next, you'll be complaining it's kinda ironic that they're attaching the freedom of the government to ride roughshod over the consitition.

My god, the freedom! Where will it ever end!

Re:Well Duh

[abigsmurf]

The businesses did not perform censorship. They have the right to do business with who they want (except if they're covered by discrimination laws). Wikileaks haven't been prevented from saying anything by them.

If I'm a shop keeper and I refuse to put a pro-life or a pro-abortion poster in my window am I engaging in censorship?

Wikileaks can still leak all they want, Visa can come out and say they don't like wikileaks and/or refuse to deal with them.

Re:Well Duh

[HungryHobo]

Well the way they terminated the contract was shifty enough to get them hauled over the coals by the regulators in at least one country.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/mastercard-visa-licenses-revoked-iceland-wikileaks/

Lame

[MrL0G1C]

So they sit on there arses while billions of pounds of financial cybercrimes are committed, trillions of spam sent, and then arrest some 15 year old for hurling a few packets in the name of free speech - fucking lame.

Re:Lame

[abigsmurf]

Using a tool designed to silence people you disagree with or dislike cannot be described as doing something 'in the name of free speech'.

Re:Lame

[symes]

It was a protest. Short lived, fairly effective (in that it raised awareness of their issue) and no one got hurt. If these same people took to the streets with megaphones, stood outside Barclays and shouted their message out as loudly as they could, most likely the police would turn up and ask them to move along and that would be that. We worry that kids are not engaging in politics and then arrest them when they voice concern - pffft, it is a crazy world.

A DDoS is not helpful

[Sarten-X]

Perhaps with enough publicity from this case, the "members" of Anonymous will realize that throwing a tantrum is not useful activism. Unfortunately, it's more likely that the various police involved will be targeted next, along with their supporters, families, and barbers.

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