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Thousands of Whistle Blowers Vulnerable After Anonymous Hacks SAPS

Posted by Unknown on from the hacktivism-gone-wrong dept.

First time accepted submitter fezzzz writes "Anonymous performed a data dump of hundreds of whistle blowers' private details in an attempt to show their unhappiness with the SAPS (South African Police Service) for the Marikana shooting. In so doing, the identities of nearly 16,000 South Africans who lodged a complaint with police on their website, provided tip-offs, or reported crimes are now publicly available." Reader krunster also submitted a slightly more in depth article on the breach.

11 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Out of character... by Draque · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How on earth does this fit with Anonymous' general philosophy of helping the little guy against the oppressive regime? Nine times out of ten they take that philosophy to an insane extreme, but this seems just the opposite.

    1. Re:Out of character... by TapeCutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      fit with Anonymous' general philosophy

      A bunch of teenagers wanking off to a Natalie Portman movie have time to form a "general philosophy"?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:Out of character... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How on earth does this fit with Anonymous' general philosophy of helping the little guy against the oppressive regime?

      Whoever said anything about helping the little guy? Anonymous is against the established legal system and for anybody who is against it, including terrorists (some of Anonymous's most high-profile actions recently have been lead by Hamas members, and core Anonymous members are not complaining). Dumping the names of people who cooperate with police to encourage criminal retaliation against them would be completely within Anonymous's character.

      Mostly they're about exercising power to harm someone else because it makes them feel good, and making up a justification later.

    3. Re:Out of character... by buchner.johannes · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Anonymous is as much a organisation as people waiting at a bus stop are. And guess what, criminals also take the bus.

      --
      NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
    4. Re:Out of character... by macbeth66 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Actually, they aren't even an organization. Who is the head? Who decides what will and won't be done?

      It seems to me that 'Anonymous' will eventually become synonymous with the term 'hacker' as the popular press uses it.

  2. Seems counter-intuitive by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe someone else has a beef with some whistle blowers and wanted to expose some names.

    Now you always have Anonymous to blame...

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    1. Re:Seems counter-intuitive by x_IamSpartacus_x · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Posting from Mozambique:

      You don't know how right you are. This is REMARKABLY stupid and dangerous. The countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are developing and with development comes all the growing pains, not least of which is very very corrupt police. Police in South Africa and elsewhere on this continent can be very vindictive and outright murderous when upset about people disrespecting their authority. A few months ago a teenager from Mozambique was dragged to death behind a South African police car because the police who "randomly" stopped him felt disrespected. If the people on these lists know about this hack and their names being made public there is a very real and justified fear they now permanently live in. If they don't know about this hack (a bit more likely in a developing country with a not-so-exposed-to-the-internet underclass) they may be blissfully unaware of the danger they are in but that does not change the its depth.

      Whoever released this info has very real blood on their hands. I don't give a damn about the title "Anonymous", the script kiddies who released this info are accessories to the horrible vindictive violence that will assuredly come, and the potential of the loss of life for many of the names released.

      The stupidity of this move cannot be overstated. Be ashamed of yourselves "Anonymous". Be ashamed for your lack of disciplining your own.

  3. Wait what?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hackers ... This, they said was “for the 34 miners killed during clashes with police in Marikana on August 16 2012”.

    So to protest the miners being killed by police, the hackers hack in, steal the information of other folks who had problems with police and then release it thus exposing those same people to reprisals?

    What a bunch of fuck tards!

    My comment about SAPS is no better. In short, they come across as brutish, stupid thugs. They are not police, just a gang with fancy uniforms.

  4. Re:Idiots by Ultra64 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Proof that Anonymous are idiots."
                                                                                                    - Anonymous Coward

  5. worst, summary, ever. by nimbius · · Score: 5, Informative

    the entire summary and the first half of the article is basically an agenda for discrediting anonymous and whitewashing the local cops.
    the leak was in response to the complaints from citizens sent to the police department, assigned a case number, and basically ignored by the police. what were the complaints about? the shooting death of 34 platinum mine workers by the police. you dont need to worry about exposing whistleblowers because the police killed 34 mine workers during a protest pretty much describes the suspects. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10016471/South-Africa-the-Massacre-That-Changed-a-Nation-BBC-Two-review.html

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:worst, summary, ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      RTFA the complaints of ANONYMOUS are about that. The whistle-blowers are trying to put a STOP to various instances of police brutality. So anonymous is protesting police brutality by posting the personal information of the VERY PEOPLE BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON IT.