Gabriella Coleman: Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous (2014)
Filed under book | Tags: · activism, anonymous, anthropology, ddos, free speech, hacker culture, hacking, hacktivism, internet, internet culture, irc, lulzsec, politics, security, tactics, twitter, web, wikileaks
“A book on the worldwide movement of hackers, pranksters, and activists that operates under the non-name Anonymous.
Half a dozen years ago, anthropologist Gabriella Coleman set out to study the rise of this global phenomenon just as some of its members were turning to political protest and disruption (before Anonymous emerged as a player in the battles over WikiLeaks, the Arab Spring, and Occupy Wall Street). She ended up becoming closely connected to Anonymous and the story of her inside-outside status as Anon confidante, interpreter, and erstwhile mouthpiece forms one of the themes of this engrossing book.
The narrative brims with details unearthed from within a notoriously mysterious subculture, whose best-known tricksters – such as Topiary, tflow, Anachaos, and Sabu – emerge as complex, diverse, politically and culturally sophisticated people. Propelled by years of chats and encounters with a multitude of hackers, including imprisoned activist Jeremy Hammond and the double agent who helped put him away, Hector Monsegur, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy is filled with insights about digital activism and little understood facets of culture in the Internet age, including the history of “trolling,” the ethics and metaphysics of hacking, and the origins and manifold meanings of “the lulz.””
Publisher Verso Books, London and New York, November 2014
Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license
ISBN 1781685835, 9781781685839
452 pages
via Marcell
Reviews: Astra Taylor (Bookforum, 2014), Jamie Bartlett (Guardian, 2014), Hannah Kuchler (Financial Times, 2014), David Gilbert (IB Business Times, 2014), Haley Mlotek (National Post, 2014), Publishers Weekly (2014), Kirkus Reviews (2014), Nathalie Maréchal (Int’l J of Communication, 2015), Maxigas (Krisis, 2015).
Commentary: João Biehl & Naomi Zucker, Haidy Geismar, Adam Fish & Luca Follis, Tom Boellstorff, Gabriella Coleman (J Ethnographic Theory book symposium, 2015).
Debate with Gabriella Coleman, Cory Doctorow and James Bridle, London, 4 Nov
Comment (0)Parmy Olson: We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency (2012)
Filed under book | Tags: · anonymous, hacking, hacktivism, internet, internet culture, lulzsec, security, web
“A thrilling, exclusive expose of the hacker collectives Anonymous and LulzSec.
WE ARE ANONYMOUS is the first full account of how a loosely assembled group of hackers scattered across the globe formed a new kind of insurgency, seized headlines, and tortured the feds-and the ultimate betrayal that would eventually bring them down. Parmy Olson goes behind the headlines and into the world of Anonymous and LulzSec with unprecedented access, drawing upon hundreds of conversations with the hackers themselves, including exclusive interviews with all six core members of LulzSec.
In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Other targets were wide ranging-the websites of corporations from Sony Entertainment and Fox to the Vatican and the Church of Scientology were hacked, defaced, and embarrassed-and the message was that no one was safe. Thousands of user accounts from pornography websites were released, exposing government employees and military personnel.
Although some attacks were perpetrated by masses of users who were rallied on the message boards of 4Chan, many others were masterminded by a small, tight-knit group of hackers who formed a splinter group of Anonymous called LulzSec. The legend of Anonymous and LulzSec grew in the wake of each ambitious hack. But how were they penetrating intricate corporate security systems? Were they anarchists or activists? Teams or lone wolves? A cabal of skilled hackers or a disorganized bunch of kids?
WE ARE ANONYMOUS delves deep into the internet’s underbelly to tell the incredible full story of the global cyber insurgency movement, and its implications for the future of computer security.”
Publisher Little, Brown and Company, June 2012
ISBN 0316213535, 9780316213530
432 pages
via wao
interview with the author (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
interview with the author (Jesse Hicks, The Verge)
review (Quinn Norton, Wired)
review (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)