• Cyber Anakin[1]
Occupationhacktivist
Known forHacking websites and computer systems[1]
Websitecyberanakinvader.wordpress.com

Cyber Anakin (also known by the handle cyberanakinvader) is the pseudonym of a computer hacktivist.[2]

Career

In 2016, in retaliation against Russia for the shooting-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Cyber Anakin, who was then a teen, started targeting Russian websites and databases, including the news site and email provider km.ru and gaming company Nival Networks. The information gained during the breaches included dates of birth, encrypted passwords, and geographic locations. There were 1.5 million victims.[3] The km.ru and Nival data breaches were confirmed by computer security researcher Troy Hunt.[3] Cyber Anakin subsequently used the content of the km.ru data breach to assist Latvian independent news website Meduza in establishing the identity of a man who had been sexually harassing female chess players by sending them letters containing used condoms and pages from pornographic magazines.[4]

In April 2018, Cyber Anakin took advantage of an error in a North Korean propaganda website that erroneously linked to a non-existent Twitter account.[5] As an "April Fools prank" he registered a spoof account under that empty username and posted numerous anti-DPRK propaganda messages including unflattering images and obscene slurs directed against Kim Jong-un.[6]

In June 2018, Cyber Anakin took advantage of a security flaw present in internet connected set-top boxes, to temporarily deface a small number of television sets with messages in opposition to Article 13 of the European Union's Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. In an interview with ZDNet, he expressed concerns that the proposed filter will "let things which shouldn't to pass through and block those that should be allowed". He also said that the Internet "will become a boring, gloomy place" if MEP Axel Voss "has his way".[7]

Following the shooting-down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in January 2020, Cyber Anakin defaced the website of the Khuzestan Water and Power Authority, placing the names of Flight 752's victims on its webpage.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Batebi, Ahmad. "Interview with an Outraged, Grief Stricken Hacktivist". IranWire. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "Teen 'Cyber Anakin' hacker wants revenge on Russia after the MH17 crash". news.com.au. March 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "A Teen Hacker Is Targeting Russian Sites as Revenge for the MH17 Crash". VICE Motherboard. March 5, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. ^ "Это похоже на крик души. Но я не знаю, о чем он кричит Больше десяти лет кто-то присылает российским шахматисткам письма с использованными презервативами и порно. Мы нашли этого человека". Meduza (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Williams, Martyn (April 6, 2018). "Mischief with Our Nation website". North Korea Tech - 노스코리아테크. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "N Korea error promotes fake Twitter account". BBC News. April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Whittaker, Zack. "A protester is spreading anti-Article 13 messages over exposed internet TVs". ZDNet. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
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