back to article Anonymous loose cannon admits DDoSing social services and housing websites

A middle-aged Briton has admitted running a series of debilitating denial of service attacks against social services, social housing and crime prevention websites. Ian Sullivan, 51, of Bootle, Merseyside, also admitted responsibility for a series of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against private sector firms, …

  1. Khaptain Silver badge

    Emote-words Bingo

    “Many DDoS attacks are little more than a temporary inconvenience but in this case Sullivan’s actions are likely to have deprived vulnerable people of access to important information, ranging from where to get support on family breakup, to reporting crime anonymously"

    I am surprised that he didn't managed to add a "save the world's children hotline" into this list of deprived vulnerable people.

    1. DNTP

      Re: Emote-words Bingo

      I'm curious about his target selection. Did he actually have a political agenda or was it just a matter of vulnerable targets? Anyway he's certainly more of a dick for DDoSing sites that operate to serve the public interest, funded by public money, than corporate sites. It's like the difference between prank calling 911 or the Microsoft Store.

      1. Richard Ball

        Re: Emote-words Bingo

        I think he's pretty much been using it as a way of publishing his life-story.

    2. Khaptain Silver badge

      Re: Emote-words Bingo

      I see that the actual capacity to understand some mild wit is actually dropping on El Reg these days !

      Oh well not to worry.......says the wooly backed troll as he trundles over to his trough...

    3. Triggerfish

      Re: Emote-words Bingo

      How terrible when someone attacks sites that actually are useful for vulnerable people, that the first poster has to try and make some political issue out of it.

  2. Busby

    Anonymous you're doing it wrong

    Boasting about it on social media not sure that really fits with the whole Anonymous thing. Hard to have any sympathy with the guy arrested when you see the targets it's not exactly going after Scientology or someone similar. If guilty I hope they throw the book at him.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well, it does make a nice change...

    ...a hacker with no kid porn on his hard drives.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Well, it does make a nice change...

      "...a hacker with no kid porn on his hard drives."

      Just wait until the local plod gets theirs hand on it.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ay Ian lad, I taught you how to use 7 proxies outside the strand. FTM!

  5. Preston Munchensonton
    Terminator

    "Sullivan’s actions rendered targeted websites inaccessible to legitimate servers."

    From the sound of it, he actually prevent the first step in the RoTM. We certainly don't want servers browsing the Internetz.

    1. Steven Raith

      So that's why we have a robots.txt file....!

  6. BillDarblay
    FAIL

    Meanwhile

    banks like HSBC are free to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion with no hint of prosecution.

    Britain really is a sh1thole

    1. sabroni Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Meanwhile

      Yeah, these days you get arrested and thrown into jail if you say you're English!

    2. Tom Samplonius

      Re: Meanwhile

      "banks like HSBC are free to commit fraud, money laundering and tax evasion with no hint of prosecution."

      HSBC was fined $1.6B USD in 2012 for money laundering. The tax evasion issues are before the Public Accounts Commitee (PAC), so hardly "... no hint of prosecution.." The PAC will probably recommend another big fine too. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31799405

  7. Little Mouse

    Some people really should get out more.

    That said, I've never been to Bootle. What's it like?

    1. PartTimeLegend

      Re: Some people really should get out more.

      It makes Beirut look nice. Go the Strand and see the mall of the 70s with 4 open stores.

      If you need directions the homeless and/or drug using folk will be all to happy to punch any part of you they like.

      If learning is your thing, don't forget to miss Hugh Baird College. Ask for Charles Rothwell and say you're Gordon from Alive.

    2. Anonymous John

      Re: Some people really should get out more.

      The Inland Revenue had a computer centre there fifty years ago, and I was seconded there for most of 1966. It sounds as if it's gone downhill since.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is why they make prisons

    Get the scum off the streets and in prison where they belong.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This is why they make prisons

      No need to send them to prison, just build a wall around Liverpool.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: This is why they make prisons

        'ESCAPE FROM LIVERPOOL'

        Who would play Snake?

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: This is why they make prisons

          "'ESCAPE FROM LIVERPOOL'

          Who would play Snake?"

          Derek Hatton?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Get the scum off the streets

      I'd rather they were on the streets that posting their stupid, hateful and downright ignorant slogans on these boards.

      What definition of "scum" are you using here? Does it include idiotic anonymous internet haters? Or is it anyone who's life you don't approve of?

      I think people who call people scum are scum.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Get the scum off the streets

        "I'd rather they were on the streets that posting their stupid, hateful and downright ignorant slogans on these boards."

        Please re-read your entire comment and think about that first line !

        What definition of "scum" are you using here? Does it include idiotic anonymous internet haters? Or is it anyone who's life you don't approve of?

        You posted as Anon !!

        "I think people who call people scum are scum."

        Logic therefore dictates that you are calling yourself scum !!!

        That cost me a wholé weeks worth of exclamation marks but I think it was worth it. Touché turtle runs of into the tonight to fight yet another villainous character..

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Get the scum off the streets

          I'm confused. AC is having an argument with him/her/myself.

          Mentioning that city in a post directly following that slur is a bit silly.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Get the scum off the streets

          Oh noes, an anon is dancing around my comment trying to score grammatical points. Let me go and think long and hard about that.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A few years ago, when Liverpool was the 'Capital of Culture'...

    an enthusiastic Liverpool reporter asked Ringo Starr, who was slumming it there for a few weeks, what did he miss about Liverpool? "Nothing" was Ringos reply. The next day they found that someone had 'beheaded' his statue (they had erected a topiary of the fab four). The only reason i bring it up is that i still find it hilarious:)

    1. Mark 85
      Devil

      Re: A few years ago, when Liverpool was the 'Capital of Culture'...

      there for a few weeks, what did he miss about Liverpool? "Nothing" was Ringos reply. The next day they found that someone had 'beheaded' his statue (they had erected a topiary of the fab four)

      And today they would blame the ISIL (or whatever) for symbolic terrorism.

    2. Maverick

      Re: A few years ago, when Liverpool was the 'Capital of Culture'...

      guess you've never been eh?

  10. imanidiot Silver badge

    Anonymous

    or not really?

    Sems it'd be really easy to claim you are doing things in the name of "Anonymous"... I have a feeling it gets used as a universal scapegoat more than this "group" actually carries out attacks.

  11. Swarthy

    Can one be a 'Skiddie' at middle age?

    I propose a new term for this type: Scurmudgeon.

  12. rtb61

    I still do not understand why the ISP hosting the user is incapable of detecting an attack going through their network. The traffic is quite distinct and abnormal and as such that would have no problem at all of detecting, temporarily shutting down the connection and warning the end user, before enabling it again. Most of this stuff should really be a simple fine, administered in much the same way as parking tickets ie seriously, how many people go to jail for years for illegally obstructing some ones driveway.

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