Hacker group Anonymous has waged a war against the far right political support group Ku Klax Klan or KKK of the US. By hacking two of their Twitter accounts, they asserted their disapproval of it. The hacktivist group also disabled four websites of the KKK.
The entire saga started when an 18-year-old black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot dead by a white police office in Ferguson, Missouri. According to reports, Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson were walking in the middle of the street when the cop, Wilson, drove up and ordered them to shift to the sidewalk. An argument ensued between Brown and Wilson. As it snowballed into a scuffle, Wilson's gun went off.
Brown and Johnson then ran in different directions, with Wilson in pursuit of Brown. Wilson shot Brown six times, killing him. Witness reports differ as to whether and when Brown had his hands raised, and whether he was moving toward Wilson when the final shots were fired.
According to sources, the KKK distributed a leaflet favouring Ferguson. It read: "You have awakened a sleeping giant. The good people of St. Louis County of all races, colours and creeds will not tolerate your threats of violence against our police officers, their families and our communities. You have been warned by the Ku Klux Klan! There will be consequences for your acts of violence against the peaceful law abiding citizens of Missouri. We will use lethal force as provided under Missouri Law to defend ourselves."
The events surrounding the shooting are under investigation by a county grand jury, which will decide whether there is evidence to indict Wilson for his actions. Later, the KKK threatened to take lethal action against those who will protest against the state.
Following that threat Anonymous, the global hacktivist group attacked Ku Klax Klan's Twitter account, website and hundreds of e-mail IDs. The hacker group also alerted the extremists through a tweet, using Ku Klax Klan's very own twitter account.
The hacking operation began this Sunday, following three consecutive threat tweets from KKK from their Twitter handle @KuKluxKalnUSA. In one tweet they wrote, "Anonymous is nothing but an act. Don't be worried by this, fellow klansmen. #OpKKK #HoodsON". The other tweet was more terse in tone: "Anonymous is nothing but a bunch of wannabes. They won't take any action. We will not be brought down by some low-lives behind a screen."
Yesterday they wrote: "We are continuing to read Anonymous threats with much amusement. Still no action taken. #Cowards #HoodsON."
After a couple of hours, the hacker group hacked the account and wrote "Under anon control as of 16 NOV 2014 09:11:47. You should've expected us."
Later, the hacktivist group named the operation as #opKKK and wrote: "You should've expected us. #OpKKK continues to be a success. Freedom will prevail." Coincidentally, followers of Klan's Twitter account has doubled following the hack.
The hacktivist group tweeted it would close the Twitter handle sometime on Monday. Anonymous posted the following statement on PasteBin:
"When society accepts racism, violence against people and their homes, and allows people to be arrested without proof or rights for a defense, the justice shows its ideological and partial side.
It's a symptom and ideological. Protest against Ku Klux Klan is, symbolically, stand against the ideology that causes death and suffering."
