Inside the Anonymous Army of “Hacktivist” Attackers

June 23, 2011 at 4:30 am PT

In this sleepy Dutch town last December, police burst into the bedroom of 19-year-old Martijn Gonlag as he hurriedly pulled on jeans over his boxer shorts. He was hauled away on suspicion of taking part in cyber attacks by the online group calling itself Anonymous.

Mr. Gonlag admits taking part in several attacks on websites, but he recently had a change of heart as some hackers adopted increasingly aggressive tactics.

“People are starting to grow tired of” the hackers, he said in an interview. “People are also starting to realize that Anonymous is a loose cannon.”

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Tagged with: Anonymous, Cassell Bryan-Low, hackers, Siobhan Gorman, The Wall Street Journal

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