Topiary (hacktivist)
Encyclopedia
Topiary is a hacktivist and self-described "Supporter of Anonymous Operations, WikiLeaks, and maintaining freedom on the Internet". He is heavily involved with the Internet group Anonymous
, which have publicly claimed various online attacks, including hacking HBGary
, Westboro Baptist Church
, and Gawker. They have also claimed responsibility for the defacing of government websites in countries such as Zimbabwe
, Syria
, Tunisia
, Ireland
and Egypt
.
. A recording of this event was placed on YouTube
, where it reached over one million views in five days.
Topiary is a reported member of LulzSec
, and supposedly ran their Twitter
account. There was originally speculation that the identity of Topiary was Daniel Chatfield after the domain lulzsecurity.co.uk allegedly redirected to lulzsecurity.com. This speculation led to the rebuttal by LulzSec
's leader, Sabu
, publicly stating on twitter that Daniel Chatfield was not Topiary. The Guardian
had reported that Topiary's name was Daniel.
on July 27 2011. On July 31, 2011, the man was charged with five offences including unauthorised computer access and conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency
's website. Scotland Yard later identified the man arrested as Yell, Shetland resident Jake Davis. He was charged with unauthorized access of a computer under the Computer Misuse Act 1990
, encouraging or assisting criminal activity under the Serious Crime Act 2007
, conspiracy to launch a denial-of-service attack against the Serious Organised Crime Unit contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977
, and criminal conspiracy also under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Police confiscated a Dell
laptop and a 100-gigabyte hard drive that had 16 different virtual machine
s. The hard drive also contained details relating to an attack on Sony and hundreds of thousands of email addresses and passwords were found on the computer. A London court released Davis on bail under the conditions that he live under curfew with his mother and have no access to the Internet. His lawyer Gideon Cammerman stated that, while his client did help publicize LulzSec and Anonymous attacks, he lacks the technical skills to have been anything but a sympathizer.
After his arrest, Anonymous launched a 'Free Topiary' campaign, which includes adding a "Free Topiary" banner to their Twitter avatars, similar to the Free Bradley banner.
Anonymous (group)
Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
, which have publicly claimed various online attacks, including hacking HBGary
HBGary
HBGary is a technology security company. Two distinct but affiliated firms carry the name: HBGary Federal, which sells its products to the US Federal Government, and HB Gary, Inc. Its other clients include information assurance companies, computer emergency response teams, and computer forensic...
, Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
, and Gawker. They have also claimed responsibility for the defacing of government websites in countries such as Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Rise to prominence
On February 24, 2011, Topiary gained attention after he appeared on The David Pakman Show. He informed the host that Anonymous had replaced a Westboro Baptist Church webpage with a message from Anonymous during an on-air confrontation with Shirley Phelps-RoperShirley Phelps-Roper
Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She is best known as the spokesperson of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization known for its highly publicized public protests conducted under the slogan "God Hates...
. A recording of this event was placed on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, where it reached over one million views in five days.
Topiary is a reported member of LulzSec
LulzSec
Lulz Security, commonly abbreviated as LulzSec, is a computer hacker group that claims responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of user accounts from Sony Pictures in 2011. The group also claimed responsibility for taking the CIA website offline...
, and supposedly ran their Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account. There was originally speculation that the identity of Topiary was Daniel Chatfield after the domain lulzsecurity.co.uk allegedly redirected to lulzsecurity.com. This speculation led to the rebuttal by LulzSec
LulzSec
Lulz Security, commonly abbreviated as LulzSec, is a computer hacker group that claims responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of user accounts from Sony Pictures in 2011. The group also claimed responsibility for taking the CIA website offline...
's leader, Sabu
Sabu (hacktivist)
Sabu is an alleged leader of the hacking group LulzSec. He features prominently in the group's published IRC chats, and is a supporter of the "Free Topiary" campaign....
, publicly stating on twitter that Daniel Chatfield was not Topiary. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
had reported that Topiary's name was Daniel.
Potential arrest
An 18-year old man suspected of being Topiary was arrested in the Shetland IslandsShetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
on July 27 2011. On July 31, 2011, the man was charged with five offences including unauthorised computer access and conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom under Home Office sponsorship...
's website. Scotland Yard later identified the man arrested as Yell, Shetland resident Jake Davis. He was charged with unauthorized access of a computer under the Computer Misuse Act 1990
Computer Misuse Act 1990
The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced partly in response to the decision in R v Gold & Schifreen 1 AC 1063 . Critics of the bill complained that it was introduced hastily and was poorly thought out...
, encouraging or assisting criminal activity under the Serious Crime Act 2007
Serious Crime Act 2007
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes several radical changes to English criminal law. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, replaces the common law...
, conspiracy to launch a denial-of-service attack against the Serious Organised Crime Unit contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977
Criminal Law Act 1977
The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
, and criminal conspiracy also under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Police confiscated a Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
laptop and a 100-gigabyte hard drive that had 16 different virtual machine
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
s. The hard drive also contained details relating to an attack on Sony and hundreds of thousands of email addresses and passwords were found on the computer. A London court released Davis on bail under the conditions that he live under curfew with his mother and have no access to the Internet. His lawyer Gideon Cammerman stated that, while his client did help publicize LulzSec and Anonymous attacks, he lacks the technical skills to have been anything but a sympathizer.
After his arrest, Anonymous launched a 'Free Topiary' campaign, which includes adding a "Free Topiary" banner to their Twitter avatars, similar to the Free Bradley banner.