Anonymous has targeted a prominent banker who was relieved of duty as Washington Mutual CEO shortly before it collapsed in 2008.
Kerry Killinger was allegedly awarded more than $25 million in compensation, including a $15 million severance payment, despite accusations that he led the bank on a “lending spree” in the midst of a housing market bubble.
As CNET’s Elinor Mills points out, the information posted to PasteBin isn’t all that sensitive, because it mostly includes phone numbers, addresses and other legal data.
“The move is more symbolic than punitive,” wrote Mills. “It’s billed as retribution for police actions against demonstrators protesting government corruption and the huge economic gap between the top one percent of the U.S. that control more than a third of the country’s wealth.”
Killinger is certainly not the first banker to be pwned by Anonymous and he obviously won’t be the last. Previous financiers targeted by the collective include Joseph Ficalora, CEO of New York Community Bancorp, James Dimon (JP Morgan Chase) and Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs).
“Every time a protester gets arrested, more bankers will be targeted. We stand side by side with our brothers and sisters Occupying the World,” activists associated with Anonymous pledged in a communiqué.
“They destroyed personal property in #OccupyBoston as the cops dumped the peoples belongings in dump trucks, so we release data. We are Anonymous, we are the new digital race. Expect us!”
The hacktivist collective also released a (separate) video urging OccupyWallStreet protestors to “connect, occupy and reboot” as the American Autumn marches forward.
“Despite the fact that massive demonstrations were planning to occupy Wall Street, we were ignored in the media. Despite the fact that the protestors were flocking from every corner of the nation to join the protest they remained silent. However, the era of the Internet is upon us. The power to circumvent the mass media has become trivial.
“The elites have been forced to recognize the movement, they have been forced to stand against us…. The game is over Wall Street. You fell into our trap, you repeated history. You planted the seeds for civil dissent, and now you will watch as what you reap is sowed, you will watch as the entire country blossoms and you are consumed. All the dominos are falling, and you will watch as one by one we prevail. The protestors have won. Stop your vain efforts, the wildfires are all around you. Stop preparing for revolution. It is upon you.”
