Ex-Anonymous & Ex
military member discusses involvement with Global Hacktivist group
We all know Anonymous. While some of us respect it
for its vision of a better Internet full of freedom, there are skeptics who say
that Anonymous are a bunch of skiddies. What does it feel to be a Anonymous
member? How do Anonymous work? These are some important
questions which even the die hard critics of Anonymous would like answers to.
Ex anonymous and ex military member discusses
involvement hacktivist group
A Houston area man who is also a ex-military man
spoke to Click 2 Houston about his involvement with the global hacktivist group
Anonymous and why he severed all ties with the elusive organization. Mike Jones
claims he is one of the original members of Anonymous and has been at the
forefront of several cyber attacks on government institutions, large
corporations and terrorist groups.
“We
were looking for new ways, new ways of thinking,” Jones said.
When asked why he joined Anonymous, Jones said that
the initial idea behind the formation of the group was “injustice.” Jones said
that after 9/11 WTC terror attacks, the US government became overly overly
intrusive into the average American’s citizen’s life.
Ex anonymous member discusses involvement
hacktivist group
“After 9-11 there was a swing of taking
people’s civil liberties. There was a knockdown of people’s rights and there
was a fight for gaining that back,” Jones said. “We kind of got together, put
our heads together and labeled ourselves, basically, freedom fighters. They
were aimed at people and organizations that we felt were on the wrong side of
the law to begin with.”
“While you
use the words ‘freedom fighters,’ others out there use the word, ‘criminal.’
Do you consider yourself a criminal?” Channel 2’s Robert Arnold asked.
“No, I don’t,” Jones said.
“You have broken laws that are on the books. Is
that not correct or do you disagree with that?” asked Arnold.
“I don’t disagree, but at the time those laws
weren’t created. They used us as a way to form new laws,” Jones said.
Jones is also a ex-military man. “I went into
military intelligence after 9-11,” said Jones. “There was definitely an
intelligence gap, and that’s where I wanted to be.”
Jones said he joined Anonymous after he left the
Navy and spent his time mostly looking for vulnerabilities in corporate
websites. “Looking at systems for vulnerabilities is something that helps all
of us,” Jones said.
“Why should you be allowed to, I guess, to just
poke around in the dark and see if you can get in?” asked Arnold.
“The way I look at it is, either I can test it or
the Chinese can. Would you rather me test it or someone from China or North
Korea test it?” said Jones.
Jones told Arnold that he left Anonymous for three
reasons. The first was seeing friends sent to prison under, what at the time,
were newly created cyber-laws.
“They held us to almost a terrorist level. Matter
of fact they called it cyber-terrorism,” Jones said. “I think that made a lot
of us feel like less than citizens. When I look at my kids, jail is not
somewhere I want to be.”
The second reason is Jones said he feels like the
original intent of Anonymous has become diluted.
“The idea is disappearing. Guys are
buying Anonymous masks at Party City, they’re running through the streets and
starting fires with the Anonymous mask on, that’s not who we are,” said Jones.
“The idea was a pure idea and it was not physical or life-threatening.”
The third reason was his professional life. He felt
that being an Anonymous member may have ruined a successful career in private
sector.
Out of the three, this one seems to be the most
valid reason for Jones leaving Anonymous as after leaving the military, many
private-sector companies were hiring people with his particular skill set.
“Hiring people like me to defend against what we
know is out there. It’s there, the threat is real,” said Jones. “They only
way really to know their vulnerabilities and the threat to their companies was
to find people like me, that were already there, that were willing to work for
an honest paycheck, but also keep their head in the underground.”
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