Who Is Anonymous? 

The group "Anonymous" guaranteed on Thursday that it had hacked GOP presidential applicant Donald Trump, discharging what it claimed was his Social Security number, phone number, and other individual data.

The decentralized gathering of global dissident programmers has been connected to various prominent occurrences throughout the years, including Internet assaults on governments, significant companies, money related organizations, and non-mainstream gatherings.

Who Is Anonymous? 

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Anonymous gained national attention in 2008 when the group hacked the Church of Scientology internet site with a distributed denial-of-service attack, during which multiple computers bombard the victim's server with requests so as to overwhelm and shut it down.

Although many supporters have praised Anonymous, members of the hacking collective have faced prosecution for his or her actions. FBI captures have prompted charges of the digital following, PC hacking, and misrepresentation.

Here are three things to understand about these "hacktivists:"

Who is Anonymous?

It's an amorphous group of individuals that will include anyone who wants to use the brand to place forth their cause, consistent with Internet activist Gregg Housh, formerly with Anonymous.

Housh says that Anonymous was imagined to be utilized and embraced by anybody.

"The show of stating no uncertainty about it," he said."That is the methods by which little control anyone has over the brand."

There’s also the real-world manifestation of the Anonymous movement, which has been represented at rallies around the world by protesters wearing the now-iconic Fawkes masks obscuring their identity.

People associating themselves with Anonymous run the gamut. Members include women, men, Democrats, Republicans, the young, the old, and other people of various races and nationalities, consistent with Housh.

What does the group want?

While there are no particular objectives, there's an overall want to battle restriction, advance right to speak freely, and counter government control that flashes individuals inside the supposed group into action, consistent with Housh.

Housh said that perhaps the sole guideline is "anti-oppression."

Since there are no participation records, pamphlets, or boards of trustees, individuals sort out by two essential pathways: either however past associations or anybody with an idea can go others to travel into a talk group and discuss the thought further, consistent with Housh.

“Depending on what you've got suggested, the people are getting to rally around you or not," he said.

That also means not everyone related to the group agrees on every action taken under its name.

"I don't think you'll be set up to find an Anon that won't be upset about at any rate one activity [operation]," he said.

How does it carry out hacks?

Anonymous is understood to vigorously follow its targets. it's been related to crashing Web servers, website defacement, and leaking hacked private information.

For example, the group allegedly targeted computer security firm HBGary and its CEO, claiming that the corporate was getting to disclose details of Anonymous members to the FBI, ABC News reported in 2011.

At the time, Anonymous allegedly hacked the firm's website, posted a message on its website, downloaded thousands of emails, and took control of the CEO's Twitter account.

In 2013, Anonymous gained notoriety when then 26-year-old programmer Deric Lostutter worked to show the cover-up within the Steubenville rape case. His initial video message calling for action spurred internet site take-overs, and uncovering of private emails reported Rolling Stone during a lengthy profile of the incident.

The group also uses its tech-savvy abilities to market causes it supports.

Anonymous worked with other groups to help the Arab Spring uprising, specifically in Tunisia and Egypt, to stay access to the web open for organizers on the bottom, consistent with Housh.

"Just keeping the lights on is basically huge in those locales," he said.