We Are Anonymous

Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency

By: Parmy Olson

Narrated by: Abby Craden

A thrilling, exclusive exposè of the hacker collectives Anonymous and LulzSec.

We Are Anonymous is the first full account of how a loosely assembled group of hackers scattered across the globe formed a new kind of insurgency, seized headlines, and tortured the feds -- and the ultimate betrayal that would eventually bring them down. Parmy Olson goes behind the headlines and into the world of Anonymous and LulzSec with unprecedented access, drawing upon hundreds of conversations with the hackers themselves, including exclusive interviews with all six core members of LulzSec.

In late 2010, thousands of hacktivists joined a mass digital assault on the websites of VISA, MasterCard, and PayPal to protest their treatment of WikiLeaks. Other targets were wide ranging: the websites of corporations from Sony Entertainment and Fox to the Vatican and the Church of Scientology were hacked, defaced, and embarrassed, and the message was that no one was safe. Thousands of user accounts from pornography websites were released, exposing government employees and military personnel.

Although some attacks were perpetrated by masses of users who were rallied on the message boards of 4Chan, many others were masterminded by a small, tight-knit group of hackers who formed a splinter group of Anonymous called LulzSec. The legend of Anonymous and LulzSec grew in the wake of each ambitious hack. But how were they penetrating intricate corporate security systems? Were they anarchists or activists? Teams or lone wolves? A cabal of skilled hackers or a disorganized bunch of kids?

We Are Anonymous delves deep into the internet's underbelly to tell the incredible full story of the global cyber insurgency movement, and its implications for the future of computer security.

Informative and very well narrated

If you want to know more about this social concept and important movement, this book will give you relevant and detailed information about the network and ops organic organization. All though sometimes you can get a bit lost in the sea of nicknames and IRC chatrooms in the overall it serves the purpose. Great narrator, even though some of the voices are very different to the real voices of the characters, probably their on line personas would sound more like her impersonation, which makes it very interesting and entertaining.

Very interesting and a little scary

Any additional comments?

This book is very thoughtful and well researched. It is really quite facinating. I felt like I got to know the Anons, their world(s) and a variety of dangers that I never even knew existed. I thought the characterization of the key "players" in LOLs raids were particularly strong and allowed me to connect with the people behind the screen names. In the end, I even felt sympathy for the characters and the "crimes" they had committed.

Maybe just read it...

Completely agree with most of the reviews. Amazing book, terrible accents. It was difficult to get through because of the accents but unfortunately I had to listen because I was driving while listening. If you can get past the accents, it's amazing. If you hate bad accents, maybe just read it.

Much more than Anonymous for Dummies.

What made the experience of listening to We Are Anonymous the most enjoyable?

A lively and informative book brought to life by Ms.Abby Craden! Olson gives a thorough history, and actual look inside, of these hacktivist groups. All the while doing so, she paints very real characters. Characters with real flaws who, at times, are mischievous, creepy, or all out megalomaniac! A very entertaining listen. My ONLY qualm with the book was her focus on the original Anon/LulzSec members, versus giving a broader viewpoint of other group members and those countries and law-enforcement involved. A must-read for those interested in pop-culture, current events, and information security!

Which character – as performed by Abby Craden – was your favorite?

Sabu

Informative and interesting

Enjoyable book that does not take itself to seriously, but still gets it mostly right. Good for anyone who wants to get a better handle on a new social aspect of the world.