Joshua Corman says he is not an “expert” on the Internet group Anonymous, as being an expert requires far more data than is possible to collect on the Guy-Fawkes-masked vigilantes. Nor, he emphasises, is he a member.
Nevertheless, he has done a great deal of research into the group, has had numerous interactions with its members, and has co-authored a blog series analysing the inner workings of Anonymous and making suggestions for the future of the group. The blog is read by a number of key members. While it may be impossible to be an expert on the group, Corman is possibly the closest to one there is.
Following the ITWeb Security Summit, where Corman presented both a keynote and a breakaway session, we caught up with him on Twitter for a Twinterview.
ITWeb: How is Anonymous different from cyber threats we've seen before?
Joshua Corman [JC]: Not financially motivated. Driven by ideology/fun/will. Can be punishing/personal. Much more overt and chaotic.
ITWeb: Do you think Anonymous is misunderstood by the public? How so?
JC: Very misunderstood. Media has been off/poor. We see in them what we want to. Like a Rorschach.
ITWeb: In your opinion, is the existence of a group like Anonymous inevitable in the Internet Age of connected humans?
JC: Ithink it is an early response to the state of tech/society. Although it needs to be better or may do more harm.
ITWeb: Do you think a group like Anonymous is needed to balance out the power of governments?
JC: A little chaos can be beautiful. A tad too much, destructive. Such a role requires wisdom/morality/restraint/compassion.
ITWeb: How can organisations protect against this kind of threat?
JC: Don't offend them ;) Most attacks are easy to defend, but under-invested. DDoS and SQLi are legion :) Fixable, if you try.
ITWeb: Is Anonymous something South African businesses should be afraid of?
JC: Not from here, but Anonymous hates censorship, surveillance, corruption, regardless of country. Time to understand them.
ITWeb: What do you predict for the future Anonymous?
JC: I've put MUCH into this in "Building a Better Anonymous" blog and Vanity Fair
[Follower question] TreeBSD: is Anonymous responsible for the DDoS on thepiratebay during the last 24hrs and if so why them?
JC: I don't know. It may be unknowable since anyone can act in the name of Anonymous. I'll look into this "Op".
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