Anonymous Operation Sends Guantanamo's Wifi Into Shutdown
Reports have been surfacing for awhile now regarding hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay by prisoners over indefinite imprisonment – without trial – which has resulted in force feeding. To show their support for the cause behind the hunger strikes, hacking collective Anonymous threatened to take Guantanamo down, prompting a shutdown of its wireless Internet network.
According to the Associated Press, the military issued a shutdown of the wireless network at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also blocking access to social media websites, including Twitter and Facebook, via the base's computers. No cyberattacks have happened thus far; the shutdown was initiated merely as a precaution due to the posted threats.
The threats were made on May 6 via Anon Insiders, where Anonymous published a press release regarding "Operation Guantanamo." According to the statement, May 18 represented the 100th day the prisoners had been on the hunger strike, the same time the hackers' 3-day operation would take place. The public was called to initiate "twitterstorms, email bombs, and fax bombs" nonstop to show their support.
The press release also included numbers to the White House, U.S. Southern Command, and Department of Defense, urging the public to call the numbers and demand a change in conditions and eradication of the force-feedings, as well as demands that the Obama Administration close Guantanamo, as was the original plan. People were also asked to call their representatives and senators to petition for its closure.
It is worth noting the press release doesn't say anything about hacking or cyberattacking the network, instead urging the public to bombard the powers that be with denouncements of the prison's conditions, actions, and continued existence. As such, it has been pointed out on the Operation Guantanamo's Twitter account that the base has taken itself offline, with the hacking collective not having to do anything, seemingly fulfilling the purpose it was assumed Anonymous sought to achieve.
There's no word on when the network will be available again.
SOURCE: Associated Press