Anonymous members plan Bonfire Night Facebook hack

Anonymous - has it in for M-Zuck
Anonymous - has it in for M-Zuck

Some members of Anonymous have announced their intention to 'kill Facebook' on 5 November.

Taking the monologue-ing Bond villain approach, those planning the attack have released a video explaining their motives as well as revealing the Fireworks Night date.

"Join the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy," the video statement says.

Information economy

It goes on to claim that, "Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world.

"Facebook is the opposite of the anti-sec cause. Prepare for a day that will go down in history."

However, not all of the collective appear to be behind Operation Facebook; the official Anonymous Twitter account followed the launch of the latest mission by tweeting, "#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it."

So, it's a case of remember, remember the fifth of November – or, since it's a Saturday, go out and enjoy the fireworks and later on remember that some hacking collective said something about it three months ago and give Facebook a cursory check to see if it's down.

Here's Operation Facebook's full video statement - what do you think of its motives? And do you think hacktivism is a legitimate form of protest? Let us know in the comments below.

Via Mashable

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.