An operating system allegedly from hacktivists Anonymous has been released online, but there is confusion about its authenticity and how safe it is.
The OS appeared on Source Forge, a download site for open source software, earlier today and has been downloaded nearly 30,000 times already. It is an Ubuntu-based Linux operating system and, according to its description, was created for education purposes and to check the security of web pages.
Anonymous Live OS also comes with a number of tools pre-installed that can help users mask their identity online – perfect for anyone thinking of joining in a DDoS attack on a website. Other tools include one that checks for database vulnerabilities and another that aims to crack passwords.
However, AnonOps, a Twitter account that is generally accepted to be linked with members of Anonymous, claimed that the OS is not official and is in fact dangerous.
"The Anon OS is fake it is wrapped in Trojans," the tweet read.
Whoever is actually behind the OS has since attempted to defend the software. Writing on a Tumblr page set up to promote it, its creator said: "Anonymosus-OS is wrapped in trojans? Please people, in our world, in Linux and opensource world, there is not virus."
"If any user believe that Anonymous-OS ‘is wrapped in trojans’ or ‘backdoored OS by any Law enforcement Company or Hacker,’ please don’t download it! But don’t mislead the world that Linux is dangerous and has trojans!" the post added.
It remains unclear whether the OS is really Anonymous-approved or not, as the very makeup of the group means that there is no hierarchy or leader to direct operations. This episode in fact neatly sums up the difficulties in defining Anonymous and its members.
It could well be that the operating system was written by a small group of members, or even just a single person, without the knowledge or approval of the rest of the group.
CBR recently took an in-depth look at the rise of hacktivism and what it means for businesses. You can read that feature here.
It was also recently revealed that Sabu, the leader of Anonymous affiliate LulzSec, was in fact an FBI informant who had been working with law enforcement authorities for months to reveal details of other members of the groups. His actions resulted in the arrest of five alleged hackers recently.
