To BART, With Love...Anonymous

How nice it is to start the week off with stories of people who are sick and tired of being trampled on by unnecessary governmental displays of authority & who have decided to push back and fight back. From hacking to peaceful protesting, it is inspiring to see the resistance building as more and more people are deciding that living under a tyrannical police state isn’t something they wish to do…

March for Oscar Grant, shot by BART police New Year's Day.

BBC News – Hackers have targeted the website of a San Francisco transport company that turned off mobile masts to prevent protests outside its stations.

Public anger towards the Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) had been fermenting since July when transit police shot dead a man who was carrying a knife.

BART disconnected its transmitters in a bid to quell planned demonstrations.

Hacker group Anonymous retaliated by attacking myBART.org, and releasing users’ personal information.

The hackers posted details of over 2,000 myBART users online.

In a typically-worded statement, the hacking group said: “We are Anonymous, we are your citizens, we are the people, we do not tolerate oppression from any government agency.

“BART has proved multiple times that they have no problem exploiting and abusing the people.”

BART’s main website, BART.gov, was left unaffected.

However, myBART.org – which carries offers and extra services for passengers – was defaced and, as of Monday, remained offline.

‘Disruptive activities’

An action group has called for the disbanding of the BART police force following the July 3 shooting of a homeless man Charles Hill and also the 2009 killing of another man, Oscar Grant.

Protesters have already been successful in rendering some stations on the network unusable by staging mass sit-ins.

BART took the decision, on 11 August, to shut off mobile phone reception at some of its sites.

In a statement, the transport company said: “BART temporarily interrupted service at select BART stations as one of many tactics to ensure the safety of everyone on the platform.”

It said protesters had stated that they: “would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police”.

BART added: “Disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators.”

Full Article On BBC News

Related articles

• Authorites face Anonymous protests over mobile network shut down (telegraph.co.uk)
• San Francisco – Bay Area Rapid Transit shuts down cell service to stop protests (nextlevelofnews.com)
• Hackers protest SF transit’s cell phone jamming (cbsnews.com)
• Hacker Group Anonymous Calls For Monday Protest Against BART (inquisitr.com)
• BART Cellphone Blocking Raises Uproar (stevebeckow.com)
• Hackers Hit Calif. Transit Site to Protest Crackdown (foxnews.com)
• Hackers breach BART website and obtain personal data (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

About these ads