One of the biggest advantages of being a loosely organized, amorphous hacking collective like Anonymous is that when affiliated “members” are caught, not only can they distance themselves from the group, but others can pop up Whac-A-Mole style and make mischief on their behalf. Today, the group thumbed their noses at investigators by covertly hopping on a conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard, and then posting the audio online.
On the call, authorities discuss their evidence against a handful of arrested LulzSec hackers, as well as potential arrests still to come. The audio, posted below, is pretty standard agency bureaucracy and includes a few minutes about how dismal Sheffield, England, is. For Anonymous, the move is simply a power play meant to show solidarity, and that there’s no stopping all of them. “We are all Anonymous,” as the hackers like to say. For good measure, the group posted the e-mail used to obtain information about the call, indicating that some official accounts have been compromised.
The FBI has confirmed the validity of the call and is investigating the breach. Meanwhile, it might just be an appetizer for Anonymous, who promised, “Big releases coming [Friday]. The day of m4yh3m is before us.”
