Were the Anonymous Guy Fawkes Day PayPal Attacks A Hoax?

Yesterday (November 5^th) marked the commemoration of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the celebration of King James I’s survival following the attempt on his life.  However, it will now also mark the day that online hacktivist group Anonymous supposedly infiltrated and defaced various web services.

Anonymous, best-known for wearing V For Vendetta style masks to conceal their identity, attacked numerous major websites, including ImageShack, American TV network NBC’s website, and the official website for an Australian government program for disabled people.  Perhaps their most dangerous claim, however, was their attack on global e-commerce giant PayPal. 28,000 alleged account passwords were supposedly released into the public domain; however a response from PayPal states that the attack was directed at ZPanel, an open source web hosting panel:

“It appears that the exploit was not directed at PayPal after all, it was directed at a company called ZPanel. The original story that started this and was retweeted by some of the Anonymous Twitter handles has now been updated.”

Becoming the victim of a hack can be a frightening experience. If you need help with your computer or laptop’s security, Nexus Consultancy is here for you. Call us on 01753884700 and book an appointment to see our friendly IT specialists.