Operation Payback

<p>Operation Payback was a coordinated, decentralized group of attacks on high-profile opponents of <a href="/facts/Internet_piracy/7As1Mf68">Internet piracy</a> by <a href="/facts/Internet_activist/n8wzzxom">Internet activists</a> using the "<a href="/facts/Anonymous_(group)/Qm7Nqlro">Anonymous</a>" moniker. Operation Payback started as retaliation to <a href="/facts/Denial-of-service_attack/6nkoK02J">distributed denial of service</a> (DDoS) attacks on <a href="/facts/Copyright_infringement/33JDsS5S">torrent</a> sites; piracy proponents then decided to launch DDoS attacks on piracy opponents. The initial reaction snowballed into a wave of attacks on major pro-copyright and anti-piracy organizations, law firms, and individuals. The <a href="/facts/Motion_Picture_Association/QHz4RQIN">Motion Picture Association of America</a>, the <a href="/facts/Pirate_Party_UK/6a6AyCpV">Pirate Party UK</a> and <a href="/facts/United_States_Pirate_Party/fUBbNfzC">United States Pirate Party</a> criticised the attacks.
</p><p>Following the <a href="/facts/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak/k0Eo5TXt">United States diplomatic cables leak</a> in December 2010, the organizers commenced DDoS attacks on websites of banks who had withdrawn banking facilities from <a href="/facts/WikiLeaks/rm4lC2cD">WikiLeaks</a>.
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Operation Payback open-in-new

Operation Payback