Anonymous targets cyber bill supporters

The hacker group, Anonymous, launched a new campaign, Operation Defense, last week, and it is targeting supporters of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.

In a YouTube video, the group lists companies it says are supporting the proposed law.

The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan and Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland. The bill will open the way for more sharing of cyber intelligence between the private and public sector. Critics of the legislation fear that it will put individual privacy rights at risk.

The Anonymous group claims that the first phase, which started April 12, has been successful, according to the group. The video is addressed to the citizens of the United States.

Phase 2, physical protests at the locations of these companies and organizations, will begin May 1.

The two-minute video closes with the group’s infamous sign-off: “We are anonymous; we are legion; we do not forgive; we do not forget.”

Then the group added: “Supporters of CISPA, you should have expected us.”

Several government contractors and technology vendors were mention in the video including: AT&T, Boeing, Computer Sciences Corp., EMC, IBM Corp., Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Oracle and TechAmerica.

"Every day domestic and international cyber attackers actively look for ways to disrupt our business operations or gain access to company sensitive information, said a Lockheed Martin spokesman. The company "actively monitors our networks for unauthorized activity and takes the necessary steps to defend our networks and protect our information."

A CSC spokesman said, "We take all threats seriously and maintain a high level of diligence at all times.