London Stock Exchange Lands On Anonymous’ Hit List

In May, hacktivist group Anonymous warned multiple financial institutions that it was going to take them down as part of Operation Icarus.

Late last week, on Thursday (June 2), the London Stock Exchange (LSE) found itself in the group’s crosshairs in the latest leg of the attack, reported Newsweek.

The stock exchange’s site reportedly experienced a two-hour disruption as the result of what is believed to be a DDoS attack carried out by the well-known hackers. An LSE spokesperson did not respond to Newsweek‘s request for comment, but there is no reason to believe any sensitive data was exposed.

“The attack on the London Stock Exchange is another example that no organization, no matter how big, is safe,” Andy Buchanan, VP at RES Software, told Newsweek. “In this instance, it appears trading was not affected and no sensitive data was stolen, but it is still very worrying.”

Perhaps more worrisome is the point which was broadcasted by Twitter user OpIcarus on Friday (June 3):

That’s about 67 Central Banking Sites in the past month. I say that’s pretty decent.

— OpIcarus (@Op_Icarus) June 3, 2016

Last month, it was well-known that Anonymous targeted the Bank of Greece on May 4 and the Central Bank of Cyprus just a few days later.

In the case of the Bank of Greece, an official stated: “The attack lasted for a few minutes and was successfully tackled by the bank’s security systems. The only thing that was affected by the denial-of-service attack was our website.”

Other reports last month indicated that additional victims included the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, the Dutch Central Bank, the Central Bank of Maldives, the Central Bank of Kenya, the National Bank of Panama, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central Bank of Mexico, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.

“Like Icarus, the powers that be have flown too close to the sun, and the time has come to set the wings of their empire ablaze and watch the system their power relies on come to a grinding halt and come crashing down around them,” last month’s May 8 video stated.

Anonymous had pegged Operation Icarus as a 30-day campaign, and while those final days are ticking down, there’s no telling what the final hours could bring. However, it does seem that the group’s concerns have shifted for the time being, with a new video posted on Saturday (June 4), announcing Operation Harambe, a mission that has nothing to do with banks.