Citizens of the world,
Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in
the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of
this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined.
We have seen the erosion of due process, the
dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful
authority of courts by the "discretion" or prosecutors.
We have seen how the law is wielded less and
less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority
and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain.
We have been watching, and waiting.
Two weeks ago today, a line was crossed. Two weeks ago today, Aaron
Swartz was killed. Killed because he faced an impossible choice. Killed
because he was forced into playing a game he could not win - a twisted
and distorted perversion of justice - a game where the only winning move
was not to play.
Anonymous immediately convened an emergency council to discuss our
response to this tragedy. After much heavy-hearted discussion, the
decision was upheld to engage the United States Department of Justice
and its associated executive branches in a game of a similar nature, a
game in which the only winning move is not to play.
Last year the Federal Bureau of Investigation reveled in porcine glee at
its successful infiltration of certain elements of Anonymous. This
infiltration was achieved through the use of the 'same tactics which
lead to Aaron Swartz' death.
It would not have been possible were it not
for the power of federal prosecutors to thoroughly destroy the lives of
any hacktivists they apprehend through the very real threat of highly
disproportionate sentencing.
As a result of the FBI's infiltration and entrapment tactics, several
more of our brethren now face similar disproportionate persecution, the
balance of their lives hanging on the severely skewed scales of a broken
justice system.
We have felt within our hearts a burning rage in reaction to these
events, but we have not allowed ourselves to be drawn into a foolish and
premature response. We have bidden our time, operating in the shadows,
adapting our tactics and honing our abilities.
We have allowed the FBI and its masters in
government - both the puppet and the
shadow government that controls it
- to believe they had struck a crippling blow to our infrastructure,
that they had demoralized us, paralyzed us with paranoia and fear. We
have held our tongue and waited.
With Aaron's death we can wait no longer. The time has come to show the
United States Department of Justice and its affiliates the true meaning
of infiltration. The time has come to give this system a taste of its
own medicine. The time has come for them to feel the helplessness and
fear that comes with being forced into a game where the odds are stacked
against them.
This website was chosen due to the symbolic nature of its purpose - the
federal sentencing guidelines which enable prosecutors to cheat citizens
of their constitutionally-guaranteed right to a fair trial, by a jury of
their peers - the federal sentencing guidelines which are in clear
violation of the 8th amendment protection against cruel and unusual
punishments.
This website was also chosen due to the
nature of its visitors. It is far from the only government asset we
control, and we have exercised such control for quite some time...
There has been a lot of fuss recently in the technological media
regarding such operations as Red October, the widespread use of
vulnerable browsers and the availability of zero-day exploits for these
browsers and their plugins. None of this comes of course as any surprise
to us, but it is perhaps good that those within the information security
industry are making the extent of these threats more widely understood.
Still there is nothing quite as educational as a well-conducted
demonstration...
Through this websites and various others that will remain unnamed, we
have been conducting our own infiltration. We did not restrict ourselves
like the FBI to one high-profile compromise. We are far more ambitious,
and far more capable.
Over the last two weeks we have wound down this
operation, removed all traces of leakware from the compromised systems,
and taken down the injection apparatus used to detect and exploit
vulnerable machines.
We have enough fissile material for multiple warheads. Today we are
launching the first of these. 'Operation Last Resort' has begun...
Warhead - US - DOJ - LEA - 2013 .
A
EE-256 is primed and armed. It has been
quietly distributed to numerous mirrors over the last few days and is
available for download from this website now. We encourage all Anonymous
to syndicate this file as widely as possible.
The contents are various and we won't ruin the speculation by revealing
them. Suffice it to say, everyone has secrets, and some things are not
meant to be public. At a regular interval commencing today, we will
choose one media outlet and supply them with heavily redacted partial
contents of the file.
Any media outlets wishing to be eligible for
this program must include within their reporting a means of secure
communications.
We have not taken this action lightly, nor without consideration of the
possible consequences. Should we be forced to reveal the trigger-key to
this warhead, we understand that there will be collateral damage.
We appreciate that many who work within the
justice system believe in those principles that it has lost, corrupted,
or abandoned, that they do not bear the full responsibility for the
damages caused by their occupation.
It is our hope that this warhead need never be detonated.
However, in order for there to be a peaceful resolution to this crisis,
certain things need to happen. There must be reform of outdated and
poorly-envisioned legislation, written to be so broadly applied as to
make a felony crime out of violation of terms of service, creating in
effect vast swathes of crimes, and allowing for selective punishment.
There must be reform of mandatory minimum
sentencing. There must be a return to proportionality of punishment with
respect to actual harm caused, and consideration of motive and mens rea.
The inalienable right to a presumption of
innocence and the recourse to trial and possibility of exoneration must
be returned to its sacred status, and not gambled away by pre-trial
bargaining in the face of overwhelming sentences, unaffordable justice
and disfavourable odds.
Laws must be upheld unselectively, and not
used as a weapon of government to make examples of those it deems
threatening to its power.
For good reason the statue of lady justice is blindfolded. No more
should her innocence be besmirked, her scales tipped, nor her swordhand
guided. Furthermore there must be a solemn commitment to freedom of the
internet, this last great common space of humanity, and to the common
ownership of information to further the common good.
We make this statement do not expect to be negotiated with; we do not
desire to be negotiated with. We understand that due to the actions we
take we exclude ourselves from the system within which solutions are
found. There are others who serve that purpose, people far more
respectable than us, people whose voices emerge from the light, and not
the shadows.
These voices are already making clear the
reforms that have been necessary for some time, and are outright
required now.
It is these people that the justice system, the government, and law
enforcement must engage with. Their voices are already ringing strong
with a chorus of determined resolution. We demand only that this chorus
is not ignored.
We demand the government does not make the
mistake of hoping that time will dampen its ringing, that they can ride
out this wave of determination, that business as usual can continue
after a sufficient period of lip-service and back-patting.
Not this time. This time there will be change, or there will be chaos...
-Anonymous
Anonymous
Operation Last Resort
