After nearly a month of DDoS attacks against anti-piracy websites and the domains of individuals who advocate legal action against file-sharing, Operation Payback is still going strong. HADOPI and Hustler are the latest in a long line of targets plotted by Anonymous.
Earlier this week the group had planned an attack HADOPI.fr, the website for the French government agency created by the country’s 2009 legislation which regulates internet access and enforces copyright law. The mission was called off after Anonymous became suspicious about the lack of defenses the agency’s web servers had, rousing speculation that there were plans to collect IP addresses for a counter-attack.
"Doesn't this seem remotely suspicious? It's like leaving your front door open, and leaving signs around the city, saying that your front door is open and where you live... Of course, this will pull the bad guys in, which means it's a trap," a member of Anonymous posted on the Operation Payback communication board.
Now, Operation Payback has shifted its sights to Hustler. The porn mega-corporation has gained the attention of Anonymous due to a recent string of lawsuits filed against over 5,000 alleged file-sharers accused of distributing their films on BitTorrent.
These lawsuits, a recent trend in the porn industry, have been criticized by advocacy groups for the number of wrongly accused individuals turning up in the reports accompanying the filings. Oddly, some of the defendants named in a case filed by Hustler last week include Amazon.com, Maine Libraries/Dept. of Education, Clarksville Department of Electricity, and the Ohio Public Library Information Network.
According to the Operation Payback community website, the mission against Hustler is scheduled to be carried out on October 22nd at 8:00 PM GMT. This should be an interesting one indeed. With Larry Flynt’s record of outspoken behavior, he’s likely to try to attempt retaliation against the DDoS attack. Of course, we all know where that got Gene Simmons.
