Recent hacker attacks by Lulzsec illustrate the unreliability of safety protocols on the internet- when they are abused and mismanaged.
Lulzsec, a hacker group that formed from the soup of Anonymous, went on a 50 day stampede of taking down government websites, attacked Sony, and did a bunch of other fun things with the US Government and the FBI. The media frequently misunderstands Lulzsec: claiming that the dissolving of the group is due to one or a combination of the following factors:
1) Ryan Cleary, who has no supporting evidence that connects him to Lulzsec, was arrested in the UK.
2) The FBI was on to Lulzsec.
3) A Team posted documents sourcing who Lulzsec members were
It doesn't really matter what made them stop their attacks. As likely as it is that members are feeling the heat, attacks from rogue hackers following the mission of Lulzsec (#AntiSec) will continue attacks on government websites and businesses. The media is claiming that it is all over, and that companies should re-evaluate their safety practices.
The media couldn't be further from the truth. Anonymous is a loose association of people: and not all of them are hackers. Their explanation of who they are is pretty simple: Anonymous is all of us. Under the guise of Anonymous, hackers will be able to continue their actions against targets. I am not here to pin them for being right or wrong: I am simply stating that the media is wrong.
It's more than just a misunderstanding, or a generation gap. Companies need to "get serious" about consumer protections, or face the consequences. It's the Ford Pinto Team mentality: it is cheaper to pay out lawsuits than to protect our customers. On that note, it seems that corporations could care less about your private information.
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