Cyber activists ostensibly associated with Anonymous have issued a communiqué denying that the collective called for a DDoS attack against the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 10.
The communiqué circulated on Tuesday, a day after at least two purported Anonymous videos threatening the Exchange hit YouTube.
“We choose to declare our war against the New York Stock Exchange,” intoned a computerized voice on one of the clips.
“We will show the world that we are true to our word. On October 10th, NYSE shall be erased from the Internet. On October 10th, expect a day that will never, ever, be forgotten.”
Yet, the latest communiqué was quick to disassociate itself from Operation Invade Wall Street, leading some to speculate that the videos were a hoax, uploaded by a splinter group, or in fact, originally legitimate – but now disputed by certain elements within the collective. Of course, the same could be said for the communiqué as well.
“Recently something very disturbing has come to our attention. You must take all notices and information claiming to be ‘Anonymous’ with a grain of salt. Consider EVERYTHING,” the statement cautioned.
“Operation Invade Wall Street is bullshit! It is a fake planted operation by law enforcement and cyber crime agencies in order to get you to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement. It proposes you use depreciated tools that have known flaws such as LOIC.”
The communiqué also emphasized that Anonymous would “never tell” its supporters to use LOIC (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) – especially after the recent arrests and failures of Operation Payback.
“Anonymous wouldn’t attack NYSE on a HOLIDAY – [and] it is debatable if Anonymous would ever even attack NYSE,” concluded the communiqué.
It should be noted that Anonymous activists – both in the digital and physical realm – have been at the forefront of helping to promote the rapidly growing, non-violent OccupyWallStreet movement.
