HBGary, a security firm based out of California, was recently the target of the hacktivist group Anonymous. Recently, HBGary"s CEO claimed that he was able to infiltrate and learn the identity of the Anonymous leaders. Soon after, HBGary became the target of Anonymous and many of the companies sensitive files were taken and posted online. Now, after the attack they have gone silent, cancelling all public appearences and meetings. They also canceled a talk scheduled at RSA Conference 2011, a conference focused on security.
According to ITProPortal, HBGary cancel their booth and appearence at RSA because the companies employees recieved threats which included people threatening to attack employees at their RSA booth. HBGary said,
In an effort to protect our employees, customers and the RSA Conference community, HBGary has decided to remove our booth and cancel all talks. HBGary is continuing to work intensely with law enforcement on this matter and hopes to bring those responsible to justice.
While Anonymous was in the HBGary system, they found that the company was plotting to put false information into Wikileaks in an attempt to discredit the group. They were also plotting to take down Wikileaks by tracking and threatening its financial donors.
Though Anonymous helped to save Wikileaks from HBGary, an analyst with Forbes believes that Anonymous"s support of Wikileaks could hurt its reputation,
But if Anonymous has won a battle against those who want WikiLeaks destroyed, it might not have helped WikiLeaks in its other fight: the one for hearts and minds. Simply having Anonymous on its side may be contaminating WikiLeaks’ reputation at a moment when it most needs legitimacy.
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