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Anonymous re-hacks US Sentencing site into video game Asteroids

The U.S. Sentencing Commission website has been hacked a second time. A code distributed by Anonymous "Operation Last Resort" turns ussc.gov into a game of Asteroids.
Written by Violet Blue, Contributor

The U.S. Sentencing Commission website has been hacked again and a code distributed by Anonymous "Operation Last Resort" turns ussc.gov into a playable video game.

Visitors enter the code, and then the website that sets guidelines for sentencing in United States Federal courts becomes "Asteroids."

ussc asteroids anonymous

Shooting away at the ussc.gov webpage reveals an image of Anonymous.

The trademark Anonymous "Guy Fawkes" face is comprised of white text saying, "We do not forgive. We do not forget."

Update Sunday, January 27, 11pm PST: the ussc.gov website has been offline intermittently, ostensibly due to high traffic. Anonymous Operation Last Resort tweeted the Asteroids hack can be "played" on yet another U.S. government website: "Backup gaming site while USSC.gov  is down miep.uscourts.gov " (the U.S. Probation Office for the state of Michigan). This suggests, in this writer's opinion, that Anonymous has background control of multiple U.S. government websites - and after the antics this weekend, the group likely has had this access for a while and they are playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the United States Department of Justice.

GalleryU.S. Sentencing website hacked into video game "Asteroids"

Hacktivist group Anonymous began its "Operation Last Resort" Friday night by hacking the U.S. Sentencing Commission website in the name of suicide victim Aaron Swatrz, demanding reform in the U.S. justice system.

The government website was pulled offline and restored by Saturday. Now, on Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Sentencing Commission website appears to have been compromised a second time, severely, wherein a code being issued by Operation Last Resort and other Anonymous social media accounts turns ussc.gov into a game of Asteroids.

Upon visiting ussc.gov and entering enter Konami code (with cursor keys) ↑↑↓↓←→←→ (up up, down down, left right left right) then keys B, A and "Enter" - the page becomes a playable version of the old Atari game, Asteroids.

Visitors can use their keyboard to shoot away at the U.S. Sentencing Commission website.

The hack reads:

AntiSec CAEK-mode activated. Destroy the system! Controls: up, down, left, right to fire.

AntiSec controls

Blasting away at the text on the website using the keys CAEK ("repeat for NyanCat powers"), player points tally in a score box in the bottom right of the screen, while the government website page and text begin to shrink.

As the "player" gets points by shooting the U.S. Sentencing Commission website, underneath a dark image of Anonymous is revealed.

This is the second time the website has been attacked and defaced in a hack that involves public participation.

Anonymous apparently still somehow has control of the website in some way, despite the last efforts by the U.S. government to clean up the attacks.

The link to the Javascript is embedded in the ussc.gov page, but the script is hosted on a public Google URL.

The website has actually been publicly attacked three times this weekend.

But the second hack was a massive takeover that stuck. Anonymous had used the site to distribute encrypted government files and left a statement on the website that de-encryption keys would be publicly released (thus releasing the as-yet unkonwn information held on the stolen files) if the U.S. government did not comply with Anonymous' ultimatum demands for legal reform.

Anonymous has not specified exactly what files they have obtained. The various files were named after Supreme Court Justices.

However, while the first hack was restored when the U.S. government swiftly acted to wipe the site from its DNS and pull the IP address, and then restore the website, the same resolution may not be possible as it seems Anonymous - and/or AntiSec - still have access.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission sets guidelines for sentencing in United States Federal courts, and Anonymous stated it had chosen the website for symbolic reasons.

Previously on the defaced ussc.gov website Anonymous cited the recent suicide of hacktivist Aaron Swartz as a "line that has been crossed."

The statement suggested retaliation for Swartz's tragic suicide, which many - including the family - believe was a result of overzealous prosecution by the Department of Justice and what the family deemed a "bullying" use of outdated computer crime laws.

We will post updates and developments as they happen. Let us know what you find out in the comments.

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