Anonymous, the collective group of hacktivists, has claimed responsibility for a widespread DDoS attack and defacement of more than 70 Gabon government websites.
The group also stated that their attack affected "all websites ending in gouv.ga as well as their [e-]mail systems."
Those affected sites were apparently still running HTTP and not using the secure HTTPS, raising questions on how well they were actually secured in the first place.
The hack was made as a protest against Gabon’s government and specifically against the dictatorship of President Ali Bongo, whose family has ruled the country for nearly 50 years. The move by the Anonymous was indicated to make a statement, and not necessarily to cause permanent damage.
#Anonymous will always be ahead of dictators and their regimes. We fight for the people, for the voiceless, the 'technologyless'! @LorianSynaro #OpGabon #Gabon https://t.co/oTBnqMpjjR
— OpGabon (@OpGabon) October 28, 2018
The Anonymous hacking group was founded around 2003, and was formed in 2004. Adopting the Guy Fawkes mask as its symbol, the group can include anyone who wants to use the brand to put forth their cause, and use hacking as a form of protest.
The Anonymous name was derived from the way in which users would post anonymously on the picture based messaging forum, 4chan. They have been responsible for many government website DDoS attacks, defacements, as well as the shutdown of social media accounts related to the Islamic State and extremists, among many others.
Their apparently moves are usually motivated by social justice and a reaction against censorship.
The defacement and DDoS attack on Gabonese government websites is not the first activity by Anonymous in Africa. Previously, the group has claimed responsibility for DDoS attacks in South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as the defacement of Nigerian government related websites.
But as for Gabon, this is the first time that the Anonymous group has claimed responsibility for action in a Central African nation.
