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Japan Teases Anonymous for Hacking the Wrong Site by Personifying Them as Anime Characters
It was bound to happen, we just didn’t think it would be this fast.
In light of the recent “misfire” by international hactivist collective Anonymous after their first foray into Japan, Japanese netizens have done what they always do when they want to make fun of someone and personified the group as anime characters.
Images began appearing on Twitter on June 27 soon after Anonymous made a series of endearing tweets in faltering Japanese apologizing for launching a DDoS attack against the Kasumigaura River Office, mistaking “Kasumigaura” for “Kasumigaseki,” a district in Tokyo where many central government offices are located.
Anonymous Tweets to Japanese Public After 6.27 Attacks, Japanese Public Responds: “Kawaii”
International “hactavist” collective Anonymous caught Japan’s attention on June 27 after they launched a series of DDoS attacks against several Japanese government institutions in response to a new copyright law punishing the downloading of pirated content with fines of up to 2,000,000 (US $25,180) and/or a maximum of two years in prison.
Acting under the banner “Operation Japan”, Anonymous issued a formal press release via Twitter two days before the attack warning: “you can now expect us the same way we have come to expect you in violating our basic rights to privacy and to an open internet.”
They continue to post updates of their activities to Twitter and while most of their tweets are made in English, Anonymous also seems to have someone who speaks Japanese working at the keyboard. However, despite Anonymous’ best attempts to translate their lofty rhetoric, most Japanese people can’t help but feel their faulty Japanese makes them just the most adorable little hacker group ever.
When people think anonymity, Anonymous and their iconic Guy Fawkes masks often pop into mind these days. But long before the members of that controversial hacker collective were a mere twinkle in their mothers’ eyes, another anti-authoritarian rabble-rouser was using anonymous protest to stir up revolt against a totalitarian ruling elite. His name was Thomas Paine, and his anonymously published work Common Sense helped ignite the colonists in revolution against Britain.
