Anonymous Hackers Threaten University of Pittsburgh in YouTube Video
Members of the hacktivist collective calling itself “Anonymous” are targeting the University of Pittsburgh, and threatening to release a wealth of private information regarding the school and its students, if the University does not “apologize to your students, law enforcement, and professors on your home page of your domain for a duration of no less then fifteen days!”
In a three-minute long video directly addressing the Computer Science (CS) and Law departments in particular, Anonymous claims to have obtained every students personal information including passwords, dorm information, payment and credit information, parent information, coursework and grades, as well alumni information. According to the video, Anonymous has deleted the information, which was poorly protected, from the University’s website, but will post it publicly online if their demands are not met by Monday, May 6.
University Spokesperson Robert Hill told essentialpublicradio.com that the school has examined its systems and found no evidence of any breach or stolen information.
The YouTube video, posted by account AnonOperative13, suggests that University of Pittsburgh students who complained about the lack of internet security gave Anonymous the tip that the school’s website was an easy hacking target. The video also suggests that the University’s administration may have been involved in the arrests of several people who publicly supported Anonymous’ efforts.
“We found direct information leading to the arrests of several Anonymous supporters,” states the electronic narrator.
The video warning already has over 30,000 views on YouTube, and is the third of its kind posted by AnonOperative13.
The threat from Anonymous comes soon after a series of bomb threats rocked the University. Throughout the past few months, a group calling themselves “The Threateners” claimed responsibility for a series of bomb threats, only stopping after school Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg agreed to their demand and dropped the $50,000 reward for the apprehension of a student who pranked the University. Before coming to an end, the threats grew so bad that professors began to hold their classes outside, or offer them online.FULL TEXT: