After their social network, AnonPlus, was hacked again, this time by the Syrians, Anonymous’ threat against Facebook resurfaced.  The hacker group released a video on July 16 via their YouTube channel FacebookOP regarding the attack, scheduled for November 5th of this year.  Below is the transcript of the video that contained the popular Anonymous image of the headless man in a suit, and at the end of the clip, a photo of Mark Zuckerberg.

Attention: Citizens of the world, we are Anonymous.

We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:

Your medium of communication, you all so dearly adore, will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy.

Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called “WhiteHat” infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.

Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion.

Facebook knows more about you than your family.

You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realize what we have done here is right.

Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history: November 5th 2011

We are anonymous.

We are legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect us.

The audio of the file was robotic-sounding, which might have been done with the use of a voice changer, an audio-editing program or a text-to-voice program, but that’s not the point.  The most curious part is the specific date of the planned attack.  What’s special about November 5th?

Some of you may recognize this reference from the movie V for Vendetta or if you’re a history buff, you might know this as this was a popular rhyme pertaining to the failed attempt of Guy Fawkes to burn down the House of Parliament on November 5, 1605.   The year after the failed attempt, the act was commemorated by holding Gunpowder Plot Sermons plus the recitation of the rhyme to ward off future conspirators.  They rhyme goes:

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

So, if November 5^th is remembered for the failed attack, why did Anonymous choose this date?  There are loads of other historically significant dates to choose from, so why this one?  Well even though Fawkes failed, his cause did not.  His act has been immortalized ever since, like in the movie V for Vendetta.  The cause continues to live on through Anonymous,, even as the mask used in the movie is the one used by the collective group.

The funny thing about this is that they are not unified in their cause.  Not everyone from Anonymous is supporting this, as seen in the Twitter feed of @GroupAnon.

FYI – #OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it. | #AnonOps

But there’s one particular tweet that caught my attention:

REMEMBER THIS ARTICLE: “Are Hacker Attacks Government Operation To Push Internet Censorship Laws?” >>http://t.co/dNTZG5g

It directed me to a link about how not all the reported “Anonymous attacks” are from them.  They claim that these recent attacks may be coming from the government to push internet censorship laws.  This might sound absurd, but anything is possible.  If you want something so bad, you’re likely going to take drastic measures.  But given the underlying message that Aononymous is not fully united, the attacks could very well be from someone in the group.   Some of the attacks, as they stated, were not something that they would do.  But seriously, I’m sure not everyone shares the same perspectives.  As seen in their Twitter feeds, not all of them believe in the Facebook attack, and this might not be the only one they disagree on.

As for Facebook users, although some are regarding this as an elaborate hoax and they are just advertising, some are now taking caution by creating back-ups for their photos uploaded in Facebook.  Nothing’s wrong if you want to be prepared.