Anonymous hacktivists target Azeri largest electrical power producer

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anonymous hacktivists have announced another leak of data from the Azerbaijan government and its largest electrical power producer, cyberwarnews.info reports.

The leak which is said to be over 7GB of files comes from Azerenergy and has been uploaded to AnonFiles in 13 different parts. The announcement of the leaked data was originally posted to cyberguerrilla.org just a short time ago.

Azerenergy (Azerenerji Joint Stock Company (JSC)) is the largest electrical power producer in Azerbaijan. It also maintains the largest distribution network in the country, although the regional power networks are being privatized. Azerenergy was recreated as a state-owned joint stock company in 1996, by decree of President Heydar Aliyev.

In the announcement post there is a short message followed by links with a short message:

“My fellow lulz of Eternia, it has happened…HEMAN is here to entertain you..Today we present you a Monstrous ARCHIVE of Azerbaijan Energy Giant – AZERENERJI – inside Archives totaling ~7 GB of confidential dox, illegal schemes, accounting, contracts, offshores, research, etc, etc,. We are not that very much happy with Aliev’s politics therefore this release is just another leap in a series of releases to fight Azerbaijani mafia clans.

Enjoy the leak and stay tuned for more… Greetz to Armenian brothers of APAXHA, Lulz, Anons and TPB. We r anonymous we do not forgive we do not forget we r the evil we r strong… HELP AZERBAIJAN FREE OF POLITICAL TERROR AND DICTATORSHIP. Follow us on twitter @CarlozTheJackal.”

It also comes with a link to a gallery of 68 files from the leak.

As information security expert Samvel Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, it’s Anonymous’ second attack on Azerbaijani governmental websites this year. “The hackers mostly targeted state security websites and the energy ministry,” he said.

Anonymous is a loosely associated network of hacktivists. A website associated with the group describes it as "an internet gathering" with "a very loose and decentralized command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives". The group became known for a series of well-publicized hacks and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on government, religious, and corporate websites.

Targets of Anonymous hacktivism included government agencies of the US, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda, and others; child pornography sites; copyright protection agencies; the Westboro Baptist Church; and corporations such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Sony. Anons have publicly supported WikiLeaks and the Occupy movement. Related groups LulzSec and Operation AntiSec carried out cyberattacks on US government agencies, media, video game companies, military contractors, military personnel, and police officers.

Dozens of people have been arrested for involvement in Anonymous cyberattacks, in countries including the US, UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Turkey. Evaluations of the group's actions and effectiveness vary widely. Supporters have called the group "freedom fighters" and digital Robin Hoods while critics have described them as "a cyber lynch-mob" or "cyber terrorists". In 2012, Time called Anonymous one of the "100 most influential people" in the world.