Cyber Safety & Security

[escapefromstress]

I do research on internet related topics, so thought I'd post some of my resources and articles here for those who are interested.

Please add yours!

TechWorm.net Latest Security News, Hacking News, Technology, Science and more ...

The Hacker News Cybersecurity, Hacking News

Cyber Security Bulletins Public Safety Canada

US Cert United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team

Internet Law: The Complete Guide

Flexara Personal Software Inspector Free Security Software

How do I run a traceroute? Cloudflare Support

How do I generate a HAR file? Cloudflare Support

Microsoft Safety Scanner Free Virus Scan

Flush DNS

Open Bug Bounty Top Security Researchers

Site24x7 Free Ping Test Tool

Trace Email Address Source

IROC2 Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication

websitedown Is this website down for everyone or just me?

GetCyberSafe Government of Canada

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

securityinabox Social networking platforms

accountkiller Delete Your Online Accounts

schoolofprivacy Self Doxing, the way we mean here is NOT getting your personal information and releasing it to the public. This self dox tutorial will explain and help you with information about gathering all of the information you have online and either getting rid of it OR changing it to a profile with misinformation.

ExtremeTech 19 ways to stay anonymous and protect your online privacy

pcmagonline How to Stay Anonymous Online

How to take a Screenshot:

With an iPhone

With a Mac

Windows

Vids on YouTube


Here's a few cool sites to watch whenever 'something odd' seems to be happening in the global online community.

Digital Attack Map daily DDoS attacks worldwide

Kasperski CYBERTHREAT REAL-TIME MAP

ThreatCloud LIVE CYBER ATTACK THREAT MAP


**many thanks to friends who've contributed to this list.

 

[escapefromstress]

Many people are unaware of another factor that impacts our online life - Geomagnetic storms caused by Solar Flares.

I've kept track over the last few years, and every time I see Nasa or another news agency publish an article about recent solar activity, I remember noticing or hearing about technical glitches that occurred as a result. Our Internet runs on satellite feeds, and if those are disrupted, so is our Internet, GPS systems, etc.


SpaceWeatherLive.com Real time auroral activity and solar activity

3-Day Forecast
Issued: 2017 Apr 13 1230 UTC
Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center and processed by SpaceWeatherLive.com

A. NOAA Geomagnetic Activity Observation and Forecast

The greatest observed 3 hr Kp over the past 24 hours was 2 (below NOAA Scale levels).

The greatest expected 3 hr Kp for Apr 13-Apr 15 2017 is 4 (below NOAA Scale levels).


spaceweather.com News and Information about the Sun-Earth Environment

SOLAR FILAMENT EXPLODES, HURLS CME: On April 9th, a dark filament of magnetism on the sun rose up and hurled a portion of itself into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the eruption:

Flying debris from the filament formed the core of a coronal mass ejection (CME). A movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows the cloud leaving the sun. At first it appeared that the CME would miss Earth, but a new analysis by NOAA forecasters suggests that a glancing glow is possible on April 14th. G1-class geomagnetic storms are possible when the CME arrives this weekend.


www.nasa.gov Space Weather

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Captured Trio of Solar Flares April 2-3

The sun emitted a trio of mid-level solar flares on April 2-3, 2017. The first peaked at 4:02 a.m. EDT on April 2, the second peaked at 4:33 p.m. EDT on April 2, and the third peaked at 10:29 a.m. EDT on April 3. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the three events. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

 

[escapefromstress]

US government 'hacked global bank system'
Dave Lee
North America technology reporter
15 April 2017

A huge range of security weaknesses, said to be worth over $2m if sold on the black market, have been leaked online.

The tools are said to have been created by the US National Security Agency (NSA), and accompanying documents appear to indicate a possible breach of the Swift global banking system.

Such a hack could have enabled the US to covertly monitor financial transactions, researchers said.

The files were released by Shadow Brokers, a hacking group that has previously leaked malware. If genuine, it represents perhaps the most significant exposure of NSA files since the Edward Snowden leaks in 2013.

On Twitter, Mr Snowden described it as the "Mother Of All Exploits" - a reference to a bomb recently used by the US military in Afghanistan.

Multiple experts have said this latest "data dump" is credible - though the institutions implicated have dismissed the claims, or refused to comment.

Swift, which is headquartered in Belgium, said: "We have no evidence to suggest that there has ever been any unauthorised access to our network or messaging services."

The BBC is not able to verify the authenticity of the files - and the NSA has not commented on the leak.

Swift was successfully targeted by hackers last year when criminals stole $81m from the Bangladeshi central bank.

Watching the Middle East

Swift is a network that allows global banks to move money around the world.

In the Swift network, smaller banks often make use of service bureaus to handle transactions on their behalf. Documents included in the leak suggest at least one major bureau, EastNets, may have been compromised.

"If you hack the service bureau, it means that you also have access to all of their clients, all of the banks," said Matt Suiche, founder of the United Arab Emirates-based cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, speaking to Reuters.

Headquartered in Dubai, EastNets has clients in Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Qatar. Spreadsheets published by Shadow Brokers appeared to list banks that had been breached with "implants" - secret data-gathering software.

Cris Thomas, a security researcher with Tenable, said analysis of the leaked files suggested the US government had the capability "to monitor, if not disrupt, financial transactions to terrorists groups".

In a statement on Friday, EastNets strongly denied the claims.

"The reports of an alleged hacker-compromised EastNets Service Bureau network is totally false and unfounded," a spokesperson said. "The EastNets Network Internal Security Unit has run a complete check of its servers and found no hacker compromise or any vulnerabilities. The photos shown on Twitter, claiming compromised information, is about pages that are outdated and obsolete, generated on a low-level internal server that is retired since 2013."

Windows threat

The files contained several "zero day" exploits - vulnerabilities that were previously unknown to the companies that create the software, or the security community at large.

The zero-days targeted Windows machines, though researchers said none in the cache would be effective against the latest version, Windows 10.

That said, multiple experts said the sheer number of zero days released at the same time was unprecedented. One researcher, speaking to Vice, said the exploits would have been worth more than $2m if sold privately.

In January, a Twitter account believed to be run by the group announced an auction of the exploits, but it appears the group did not find any buyers. The NSA is now facing criticism for not sharing details of the exploits with Microsoft once it became clear the tools were in the hands of a hacking group.

Microsoft said in a statement to the BBC that it was "reviewing the report and will take the necessary actions to protect our customers".

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39606575

Hackers publish documents indicating NSA monitored international bank transfers

http://globalnews.ca/news/3380445/h...g-nsa-monitored-international-bank-transfers/

 

[escapefromstress]

How to Report a Website to their Host Server

When you have legitimate legal issues with an Industry Website or Blog, the first step is to try contacting the Administrator to resolve the problem.

All legitimate Escort/Massage Ad websites and Review Boards provide a method for you to contact them, so look through the site links to find an email, PM or contact form. Some forums also have a ‘Report Post’ feature that you can use to report problematic content.

Check to see if they have a ‘Terms of Use’ policy or ‘Site Guidelines’ posted, so you can refer to the exact text that applies to your situation and ask them to abide by their own rules, if your legal rights have been violated.

For websites where the offenses have been committed by the Administrators and Moderators you would normally report to, or when dealing with bogus websites that steal content from legit sites, you can report those websites to their host server.

To find the Host Server:

http://whois.domaintools.com/
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/

https://www.webhostinghero.com/who-is-hosting/

 

[escapefromstress]

GoDaddy.com is a popular host for Industry websites, and this is their Reporting Process.


To Report Problematic Content on websites hosted by GoDaddy.com

You can contact them by Email, and use the online report forms provided.

Registrar Abuse Contact Email: [email protected]

They have a Support Center page where you can report things like Inappropriate Content, Phishing, Spam, Copyright/Trademark Infringement, Abuse/Harassment or a Blocked IP Address.

Please submit issues regarding the abuse of our services including, but not limited to; illegal activity, the exploitation of children, spam, phishing and malware. We also have zero tolerance for spam activity as outlined in our Anti-Spam Policy. We review all complaints for validity and will take appropriate action, and as part of our investigation it may also be necessary for us to corroborate your complaint with our customer.

Inappropriate Content
Please select the option that best describes what you would like to report.

• I have found material on a site that promotes, encourages or engages in child exploitation or abuse of children
• Disturbing Imagery, Violence, etc.
• I wish to report questionable pharmacy content on a website
• I have come across content that displays personal information such as a social security number or credit card number

Phishing
Please select the option that best describes what you would like to report. If you are unsure of what selection you should make, please review our What is Phishing help article before proceeding.

• I have received an email requesting personal information
• I wish to report a website that is posing as another website

Spam
Please select the option that best describes what you would like to report. If you are unsure of what selection you should make, please review our What is Spam help article before proceeding.

• I received unsolicited email
• I received an unsolicited text or SMS message
• I wish to report unsolicited comments on a forum, blog or in an instant message

Copyright/Trademark Infringement
Someone copied your content

To review our Trademark Policy policy and access a form for submitting a complaint concerning Copyright/Trademark Infringement, please click here.

Abuse/Harassment
Report slander, libel, defamation, etc.

GoDaddy does not allow illegal content on our customer's websites. However, as a hosting provider, it is not our place to determine if the site you have mentioned is actually engaging in illegal activities. If you suspect any of our customers are using their website to engage in any illegal activities, please help us by contacting your local law enforcement agency, and request them to investigate this situation. Please refer to our Universal Terms of Service Agreement for specifics on our policies.

Blocked IP
You Need an IP Address Unblocked

Click here to access the IP Address Unblock Request form.

GODADDY UNIVERSAL TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENT

5. GENERAL RULES OF CONDUCT
You acknowledge and agree that:1. Your use of this Site and the Services , including any content you submit, will comply with this Agreement and all applicable local, state, national and international laws, rules and regulations.
2. You will not collect or harvest (or permit anyone else to collect or harvest) any User Content (as defined below) or any non-public or personally identifiable information about another User or any other person or entity without their express prior written consent.
3. You will not use this Site or the Services in a manner (as determined by GoDaddy in its sole and absolute discretion) that:
• Is illegal, or promotes or encourages illegal activity;
• Promotes, encourages or engages in child pornography or the exploitation of children;
• Promotes, encourages or engages in terrorism, violence against people, animals, or property;
• Promotes, encourages or engages in any spam or other unsolicited bulk email, or computer or network hacking or cracking;
• Violates the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 or similar legislation, or promotes, encourages or engages in the sale or distribution of prescription medication without a valid prescription;
• Infringes on the intellectual property rights of another User or any other person or entity;
• Violates the privacy or publicity rights of another User or any other person or entity, or breaches any duty of confidentiality that you owe to another User or any other person or entity;


9. MONITORING OF CONTENT; ACCOUNT TERMINATION POLICY
GoDaddy generally does not pre-screen User Content (whether posted to a website hosted by GoDaddy or posted to this Site). However, GoDaddy reserves the right (but undertakes no duty) to do so and decide whether any item of User Content is appropriate and/or complies with this Agreement. GoDaddy may remove any item of User Content (whether posted to a website hosted by GoDaddy or posted to this Site) and/or terminate a User’s access to this Site or the Services found at this Site for posting or publishing any material in violation of this Agreement, or for otherwise violating this Agreement (as determined by GoDaddy in its sole and absolute discretion), at any time and without prior notice. GoDaddy may also terminate a User’s access to this Site or the Services found at this Site if GoDaddy has reason to believe the User is a repeat offender. If GoDaddy terminates your access to this Site or the Services found at this Site, GoDaddy may, in its sole and absolute discretion, remove and destroy any data and files stored by you on its servers.

 

[escapefromstress]

If you have screenshots or Word files containing evidence of offensive content/activity on a website that is hosted by WorldStream, you can report it by sending an email to www.worldstream.nl, their host server located in the Netherlands.

This is the email address to send your report:

[email protected]

This is an example of the type of email a lawyer would send, and similar to the email that WorldStream already responded to.

You can edit it to suit your situation.

To:

WorldStream Internet Solutions

Attention:

Rick Vollebregt

Abuse Department - WorldStream B.V


I am writing in regards to offensive/illegal content on a website that is hosted by your company.

The website is ***** , owned and Administrated by a man known as ‘*****’.

After researching your Terms of Service, I believe this is the clause that applies to the content I’m reporting:

5. Without prejudice to the specification in Article 4.4, WorldStream B.V. is entitled to terminate the agreement with immediate effect and without judicial intervention if:

- The client makes improper use of the Internet

- The client disseminates information that conflicts with national or international laws and regulations

- The client disseminates information that conflicts with generally accepted standards and values

- The client disseminates information that is discriminatory with regard to appearance, race, religion, gender, culture, or ethnicity, or that can be deemed offensive in any other way.

https://www.worldstream.nl/WorldStream_TOS.pdf

I have included evidence of recent offensive content posted in their public discussion forum/chat box. Some of the content has already been deleted, but screenshots/copies are included to demonstrate a repeated pattern of unacceptable behaviour by the owner and his members.

I have evidence suggesting/proving that ***** administrators, moderators and members have engaged in the following on their public forum:

• Uttering threats, threats of bodily harm, and death threats
• Mocking the abduction of a toddler and the amber alert issued by the RCMP
• Encouraging and counseling someone to kill themselves
• Making accusations of members luring, raping, pimping and trafficking young girls
• Setting up fake appointments, making fake hotel reservations, placing fake food orders, etc. to intentionally cause personal/business, financial/legal difficulties for their members
• Threatening to post confidential member info on thedirty.com if suspected of multiple handles
• Outing/posting personal confidential information of their members including real names, email and IP addresses
• Posting members private messages, confidential emails and reported posts publicly
• Cyberbullying and harassment
• Making malicious defamatory statements about members
• Hacking into member accounts to access private messages and impersonate them when posting
• Extorting and threatening to ‘out’ member’s personal information and deliberately harm their personal or business reputation, if they don’t pay money and agree to their demands
• Intentionally and frequently violating their own site rules, with malicious intent towards their members

I respectfully request that you investigate my complaint.

I request that this website be taken offline as it is clearly in violation of your Terms of Service.

I request that he be reported to the proper authorities if you think there’s enough evidence to warrant having serious crimes investigated.

I have been personally victimized by the owner of this website and am contemplating legal action.

Sincerely,

(you can use a fake name or your online handle)


NOTE: Copy and paste your evidence into the body of your email, or use a file transfer service to send it, by including the link to the uploaded files in your email.

WorldStream can't accept email attachments, so they recommend this easy-to-use file transfer service:

https://www.wetransfer.com/howitworks?trk=panel

If you wish to take legal action against *****, give WorldStream's contact info to your lawyer:

There’s a contact form on this webpage: https://www.worldstream.nl/contact.php


If you want to send them a letter by post, or call them:

WorldStream Internet Solutions

P.O. Box 223

2670 AE NAALDWIJK

The Netherlands

Datacenter / Office

Industriestraat 24

2671 CT NAALDWIJK

The Netherlands

Call: +31 (0) 174 - 712 117 (mo-fr 10.00 - 17.00 CEST)

Abuse: [email protected]

Their Terms of Service: https://www.worldstream.nl/WorldStream_TOS.pdf

This is the clause that applies to the content you're reporting:

5. Without prejudice to the specification in Article 4.4, WorldStream B.V. is entitled to terminate the agreement with immediate effect and without judicial intervention if:
- The client makes improper use of the Internet

- The client disseminates information that conflicts with national or international laws and regulations

- The client disseminates information that conflicts with generally accepted standards and values

- The client disseminates information that is discriminatory with regard to appearance, race, religion, gender, culture, or ethnicity, or that can be deemed offensive in any other way.


*****

This means if you can provide sufficient evidence to prove that an online crime has been committed, they will require him to delete the content, or risk having his website taken offline. If he doesn’t comply, they can immediately remove the website without requiring a court order, cease and desist letter, or the involvement of Law Enforcement.

Spread the word and ask others to report the content. The more reports the Host Server receives, the more likely they are to take you seriously and act quickly.

Please share this information with anyone you think might be interested.

 

[escapefromstress]

How to Report Inappropriate Content on Blogger

Click on 'More' at the top left corner of the Blog page.

Select 'Report Abuse' from the dropdown menu.

Report inappropriate content

https://support.google.com/blogger/a....blogspot.com/

Report a blog violation

If you believe that you've found a blog that violates our
Terms of Service and/or
Blogger Content Policy, select the abuse type below to access the relevant contact form.
Legal issues

• Regulated drugs
• Hate speech, violent or crude content
• Harassment
• Spam, phishing, or malware
• Nudity
• Posting of private information (credit card numbers, private nude images, etc.)
• Impersonation

Please note that although Blogger provides content-creation tools, we don't mediate content.

• We allow our users to create blogs, but we don't make any claims about the content of these pages.
• We believe strongly in freedom of expression, even if a blog contains unappealing or distasteful content or presents unpopular viewpoints.
• In cases where contact information for the author is listed on the blog, we recommend that you work directly with this person to have the content in question removed or changed.

We won't remove the following types of posts unless we have a court order:

• Parody or satire of individuals
• Distasteful imagery or language
• Political or social commentary

Blogger takes violations seriously

After careful review, Blogger may take these steps:

• Remove content
• Place a content warning page before content deemed offensive, harmful, or dangerous
• Notify the authors and admins by email, a message on their Blogger dashboard, or both
• Post a message that the content has been removed
• Provide a link to a copy of the removal notice

 

[escapefromstress]

Cybercrimes include:

Hacking, trolling, stalking, spamming, harassing, bullying, defaming, outing (posting unauthorized pics/personal info), theft (pics/ads/website content), and posting with malice (a desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite).

What can you do when you see these things happening?
Report problematic posts to the Mods by using the ‘Report Post’ feature available on most forums.

• PM or email the Admin immediately and ask to have posts edited or deleted.
• Report the website to their Host Server
• Contact the person being outed/defamed/harassed so they can take action if needed.
• Contact the person committing the crime and ask them to stop. (when safe to do so)
• Report serious crimes anonymously to Crimestoppers or the local Police Service.
• Speak up about what you see happening, send links to Legal Resources and help educate the Industry.

 

[escapefromstress]

Internet Law: The Complete Guide
Item Id: NLO1
Eric P. Robinson, JD, PhD
Michael J. Lambert, JD, DCL
Steven Imparl, JD

Internet Law: The Complete Guide has been completely updated and is the ultimate reference for the rapidly changing field of Internet law and regulations. With its coverage of e-commerce, intellectual property, practicing law online, and individual rights, Internet Law explains how issues in this dynamic field affect all forms of business.

Internet Law is used by corporate counsel in all forms of business, lawyers, law professors and their students, Internet service providers, bloggers, social network operators, web designers, web training consultants, systems integration consultants, and government officials and employees.

http://www.stpub.com/internet-law-th...e-guide-online

 

[escapefromstress]

Did you know there are members of the hacker group Anonymous on all industry review boards?

There are groups that are dedicated to taking down child porn sites, and taking down websites that host content involving trafficked and underage sex workers. They also doxx individuals who are involved in those activities.

Sometimes Anonymous does what no one else is capable of doing, and if it's for a good cause, I thank them for it.

Anonymous members contacted me several times a few years ago, regarding cybercrimes I reported involving members of the Vancouver industry. Anonymous had been observing one person in particular, so when they saw that I was having issues with this person, that's what motivated them to contact me.

A black hat Anon was upset enough to join perb and post about what was happening. That scared the crap out of me, and everyone else. I was terrified when Anon's first started contacting me, because I didn't know anything about them or what they were trying to do.

The Anon's I've communicated with were high profile and highly respected in the BC and Canadian community. I'll always be grateful to them for teaching me how to stay safe and anonymous online, as they were way ahead of the learning curve for most people in the escort industry.


Hacktivist group Anonymous takes down nearly 10,000 Tor websites on dark web
By Vijay Prabhu on FEBRUARY 4, 2017

Anonymous hack Freedom Hosting II, lock down nearly 10,000 dark web websites accessible through Tor

The world’s leading online hacktivist group, Anonymous is known for its million march protests, DDoS attacks and hackings in the online world. However, what is unknown is its DDoS attacks and hackings on the dark web domains. One such attack was launched today by an Anonymous-affiliated group, which took down nearly 10,000 onion websites which are accessible only through Tor browser.

Visitors to more than 10,000 Tor-based websites were met with an alarming announcement this morning: “Hello, Freedom Hosting II, you have been hacked.”.The Anonymous announced the hack attack on Twitter and said that they took down these dark websites to protest against child porn and drug peddling. These 10,813 websites were still offline at the time of writing this article.

In the message to Freedom Hosting II, Anonymous has offered to sell the compromised data back to them for a token ransom of 0.1 bitcoin, or just over $100, although it is unclear whether the offer is in earnest.

Anonymous claimed that they have stolen the data from the hacked servers and found that child pornography made up more than half the data stored on the servers. While it is impossible to verify Anonymous claim about child porn being stored on dark web servers, empirical evidence proves that they may be right. The original Freedom Hosting was hacked by FBI and other law enforcement in 2013, resulting in a number of child pornography prosecutions. At the time, the service hosted as many as half of the websites accessible only through Tor, commonly referred to as the Dark Web.

According to dark web researcher Sarah Jamie Lewis, Freedom Hosting II is smaller than its predecessor. An earlier report on the service found that it made up roughly 20 percent of dark web sites, including a number of bitcoin escrow services, Ponzi schemes and hacking forums. Lewis has compiled a list of the 10,613 affected addresses here.

https://www.techworm.net/2017/02/ha...takes-nearly-10000-tor-websites-dark-web.html


Rehtaeh Parsons's father credits Anonymous for reopening investigation
Father of cyberbullied girl credits vigilante hacktivist group for serving justice
By Geordon Omand, The Canadian Press Posted: Aug 03, 2015 7:39 AM AT

While experts and officials decry recent instances of vigilantism by the hacktivist group Anonymous, one beneficiary of the group's activism is adamant that justice would never have been served without involvement by the clandestine organization.

Glen Canning said he believes Anonymous's threats to publicly identify boys allegedly involved in the cyberbullying that predated his daughter Rehtaeh Parsons's death prompted Halifax police to reopen their investigation and eventually lay charges.

None of this would have happened if Anonymous hadn't stepped in, said Canning. "I believe that absolutely. I have no question about that at all."

Her family alleges Parsons was sexually assaulted in November 2011 and bullied for months when a digital photo of the assault was passed around her school. She died after attempting suicide in 2013. An angry post from Parsons's mother brought the case to the attention of Anonymous, said Canning.

"Why go through the courts? Why go through the system?" he said in a telephone interview from Nova Scotia. "Why be revictimized again when you can write something and get ahold of some people online who can really do a hell of a lot more to bring you a sense of justice than the police and the courts can?"

Anonymous is a shadowy, loosely knit collective known for its online activism targeting governments, corporations and religious groups around the world on prominent social justice issues.

'The system is broken'

The group made headlines last month after one of its alleged members was shot and killed by police in Dawson Creek, in northern British Columbia.

Reacting to the shooting, Anonymous threatened to temporarily shut down police websites and release hacked government documents related to the overseas communication capabilities of Canada's spy agency.

The RCMP national site and the website for Dawson Creek both went down briefly after the threat. Mounties later said it was a maintenance issue.

The group threatened to go public with more "stunning secrets" unless the government named and charged the RCMP officers involved in the shooting of James McIntyre, 48. B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the shooting.

Bystander video revealed McIntyre was wearing Anonymous's trademark Guy Fawkes mask. Fawkes was the most well-known member of a plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605.

"Stuff like this happens because the system is broken," said Canning. "If we can fix the system ... then maybe we wouldn't need Anonymous."

Dalhousie University law professor and cyberbullying expert Wayne MacKay said Anonymous has played a role in advancing the cause of justice, such as spurring governments to take action. Though no government would concede publicly it had acted in response to pressure from Anonymous, he added.

Still, MacKay raised a red flag about the group's unorthodox style of activism.

"Even if they're filling a hole in our justice system does that justify breaking the law?" he said.

"Often the answer to that would be no. We do have a structured justice system for a reason and we shouldn't necessarily allow a sort of vigilante response even if we think the main justice system is moving too slowly."

'There's no excuse for vigilantism'

Central to the dilemma is a concept found right in the collective's name: anonymity.

MacKay described the members as unelected and unaccountable purveyors of justice.

"Because they're anonymous and hide behind masks they're not responsible or accountable for what they do," he said.

Former B.C. Court of Appeal justice and provincial attorney general Wally Oppal was unapologetic in his condemnation of the group's methods.

"There's no excuse for vigilantism," he said in an interview. "It's a recipe for anarchy."

He chided the activist group for failing to give investigators enough time to probe the Dawson Creek shooting.

Oppal said the public is justified in feeling frustration with delays in the justice system, but there needs to be a process based on fairness.

Anonymous claimed responsibility for a June attack that shut down several federal sites and wreaked havoc with email — billing it as a protest against the federal security legislation that broadened the mandate for Canada's spy agency.

There is obviously interest in "trying to identify these hackers, it goes without saying," said Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney last week.

"All the agencies involved in security ... we'd really like to be able to put an end to this."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...onymous-for-reopening-investigation-1.3177605