‘Anonymous’ Hackers Threaten Internet Blackout

By Anastasiya Pershkina

“Anonymous” hackers are planning a GlobalBlackOut attack on March 31 to knock out the HTTP internet to protest against anti-piracy laws and attempts of governments to control the web.

Experts believe that these threats are nothing but PR.

Hackers threaten to attack 13 DNS servers, principle domains of the web, and redirect all sites to error pages. Experts are skeptical about these plans and doubt that a blackout is possible, says the head of Strateg site-developer Ekaterina Aksenova:

“It’s wrong to believe that the Internet is a system that rests upon 13 servers only –it’s a more complicated structure. Theoretically, if these servers are disrupted, users can experience some inconveniences and even mistakenly take them for a blackout.”

Anonymous hackers are more famous not for their attacks but for slogans and threats.

The March 31 blackout has been announced to support cyber freedom and proclaim Anonymous kings of the Internet. Ekaterina Aksyonova fears that it can be a PR stunt under a pretext of cyber freedom.

“Anonymous has no aims to destroy the Internet, which is their habitat and workplace. Their actions can be compared to PR campaigns and terrorist attacks as they are aimed at creating maximum fuss and becoming global. The hackers announce attacks beforehand and claim responsibility for them.”

The campaign may hurt the group’s popularity, believes media expert Anton Korobkov-Zemlyansky

“It’s a very doubtful plan. On the one hand, it will draw people’s attention but, on the other, Anonymous may lose the majority of their supporters, young people who prefer to be always online.”

Though the majority of experts are skeptical, they recommend that users should be morally prepared for the attack, back up their favorites and stay offline.