This is my blog from yesterday that I submitted but didn't go through while I worked on my next one before my computer crashed.
Since we've been talking about virtual realities as well as affects on reality in class the past two weeks, it's reminded me of the "virtual attacks" on sites that withdrew support from Wikileaks by a group called "Anonymous" that has been going for the past few weeks since WIkileaks was taken down by their server provider. They say that they're not really a group, but more of an "internet gathering". The way they described themselves and what they do reminded me of any social website, not necessarily facebook though but more like gaiaonline where there are forums for discussion, but in any case, these attacks the group has done has actually not caused any law enforcement. This ties into my last blog a week ago where the issue of online virtual items can actually be considered property. Do these attacks on these virtual intangible websites have free reign since enforcing law over the cyberwebs is debatable as well as difficult?
The group uses a known program to enact these attacks on these actual companies, but can the companies sue the individuals in Anonymous for causing either intermittent lag or complete shut down of their websites and thus their companies?
These companies are set in reality, but virtually and being attacked through that medium and apparently there was a member in the group with 30000 machines and botnets at his disposal to use, is there anything the companies can do to protect their virtual parts?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11971259
I think I'm familiar with the group "Anonymous" that you are referring to. I believe the group originates from the website 4chan (which I've mentioned in class before). Sometimes the "attacks" that Anonymous organizes are pretty amusing, like bombarding Justin Bieber's website with votes for him to hold his next concert in North Korea. Sometimes Anonymous rallies in the name of animal rights, though they admittedly do it in a somewhat inappropriate way: for example, they hunted down a kid who had made a YouTube video in which he had put a cat in a bag, doused in in gasoline, and burned it, and Anonymous tracked him down and constantly called his house and sent him threats. However, Anonymous can toe the line of cyberterrorism very closely. It was a member of 4chan who hacked Sarah Palin's e-mail, and there was an entire trial in the aftermath of that. The internet is a tricky space, because it's still a relatively new thing. While the Internet (at least in the West or in America) is seen as the pinnacle of free speech, and so everyone is loath to place restrictions on it. But, there are clearly crimes that can be committed on the Internet, like hacking, identity theft, and harassment. The task before us is to find a way to reasonably police these offenses without infringing on free speech.