Tag Archives: aaron-swartz

Anonymous Hacks Bank Execs’ Info; "Operation Last Resort" Anchored By Aaron Swartz Tragedy

Anonymous and its “Operation Last Resort” appear to have conducted another strike, publishing login and private info of more than 4,000 U.S. bank executives. The effort is believed to be anchored by the death of Aaron Swartz . A spreadsheet has been published allegedly containing login information and credentials, IP addresses, and contact information of bank executives. If true, it could be that the infamous hacker collaborative has released banker information that could be connected to Federal Reserve computers. The website used in this attack belongs to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC). The page extension URL is titled, “oops-we-did-it-again.” The spreadsheet document contains usernames, names of individuals and their titles at U.S. banks, and hashed passwords (not passwords in plain text). It was placed on a .gov website and Pastebin, and publicized via various Anonymous accounts on social media. A Reddit member called the numbers and commented: “OK, I called a few of them. What must be so problematic for the Federal Reserve is not the information so much as this file was stolen from their computers at all.” “The ramifications of that kind of loss of control is severe.” Banks listed on the document claim credentials from management at community banks, community credit unions, and more, across the United States. So what’s the impetus behind this new leak? Anonymous stated in its first Operation Last Resort defacement last Friday that it had infiltrated multiple federal websites over a period of time. The significance of Monday, February 4 may be that it is deadline for Attorney General Eric Holder to answer specific questions regarding the Aaron Swartz prosecution. The Reddit co-founder’s prosecution – and suicide, which many believe was brought upon by the fact that he was wanted on federal charges  – enraged Anonymous. The group called the event “a line that has been crossed” and suggested retaliation for what they believe was the overzealous prosecution and bullying of Swartz.

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Anonymous Hacks Bank Execs’ Info; "Operation Last Resort" Anchored By Aaron Swartz Tragedy

Aaron Swartz, Reddit Co-Founder, Commits Suicide

Aaron Swartz, a programmer and Internet activist who co-founded a company that would eventually become Reddit, committed suicide Friday in N.Y. City. And no, tragically, it’s not a hoax, unlike so many memorable recent items emerging from Reddit. His lawyer confirmed the surprising news earlier today. He was only 26 years old. “The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,” confirmed Swartz’ attorney, Elliot R. Peters of Kecker and Van Nest, via email. MIT’s student newspaper The Tech was the first to report the suicide of Swartz , who had hinted at battles with depression numerous times in the past. Still, his death came as a surprise to those close to him best. A programmer and progressive, he created an early version of RSS at 14 and then founded Infogami, a website that would go on to merge with Reddit. That site is now a popular online forum and video/image-sharing behemoth with an international reach among the top 100 across the entire Internet. Swartz was indicted in July 2011 by a federal grand jury for allegedly downloading millions of documents from JSTOR through the MIT network. Using a laptop hidden in a basement network closet in MIT’s Building 16, he was accused of obtaining the docs with intent to distribute them. He appeared in court on September 24, 2012 and pleaded not guilty. Swartz subsequently worked for the Avaaz Foundation, a nonprofit “global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.” R.I.P.  

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Aaron Swartz, Reddit Co-Founder, Commits Suicide

R.I.P. Motherfucker – The Aaron Swartz Edition of the Day

I have been banned from Reddit for the longest time…I think my site is also banned from Reddit….I’m talking since the beginning….but I do like what they do….. I just heard one of the unofficial co-founders, Aaron Swartz just killed himself….and after doing some research on him….he was totally against online censorship…a fighter for the freedom of the internet….for people like you and me who use the internet and like the internet before the internet was being regulated…by the government. I am hit with copyright law all the time, being shut down in the USA has been an ongoing fear or real life issue for me….I know people who have been woken up by the FBI….with guns in their faces…and I am just like…dude it’s just the internet…. Either, He was 26. He fought a good fight. He could have done so much more. This is a real tragedy. Suicide is never an option…if suicide is really what went on here…seems like he’d be someone the government would want to stop…just sayin… Swartz was indicted in July 2011 by a federal grand jury for allegedly downloading millions of documents from JSTOR through the MIT network — using a laptop hidden in a basement network closet in MIT’s Building 16 — with the intent to distribute them.

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R.I.P. Motherfucker – The Aaron Swartz Edition of the Day