Anonymous hacker group attacks Brazil gov’t websites ahead of World Cup 2014

Joining the growing protests at the 2014 World Cup, Anonymous defaced several Brazilian government websites and hacked into the Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s server, compromising emails and attachments, media report.

In addition to the hacktivists from Anonymous, the World Cup has attracted protesters from all over the world.

Dubbed #OpHackingCup, the campaign began at midnight on Wednesday, 11 June and at the time of publication at least one government website related to the World Cup is offline while up to eight others have been defaced, with a video from Anonymous Brazil posted on the websites.

Anonymous also took credit for other site-crashes that have since been repaired. Those include the sites of the Brazilian Intelligence System, the Brazilian Football Confederation, Brazil’s main site for sporting matters, Hyundai’s Brazil-specific website, and advertising agency Africa.com.br.

Anonymous said in a statement on Wednesday that it was “pursuing the government of Brazil because of their corruption and actions against the people.”

In an interview with Reuters last week a member of the collective called Che Commodore said a lot of planning had gone into the campaign:

"We have a plan of attack. We have already conducted late-night tests to see which of the sites are more vulnerable. This time we are targeting the sponsors of the World Cup."

The World Cup, which begins today, has exposed increasing public antipathy in Brazil, as costs have spiralled and police crackdowns have led to unintended consequences such as the recruitment of ever younger children into the drugs trade.

Mass protests have occurred in Brazil in the run-up to the World Cup, as the host nation has been criticized for prioritizing profit ventures of national and multinational businesses over its own people, including the impoverished that have been cleared from the favelas, or slums, in the likes of Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the largest football tournament in the world.