Cape Town - A GROUP of Cape Town “hacktivists”, who took to the streets of Cape Town on Saturday, many wearing masks, have vowed to target businesses or government departments that “do something wrong against citizens”.
Anonymous Cape Town, taking their cue from the global movement, identified the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) as their first “target”.
Members generally don’t disclose their identities, instead wearing white masks, copying the anarchist character in the Hollywood film V for Vendetta.
One member said: “We want to change the system. We don’t hack for personal gain. We hack for the gain of others.
“A lot of our guys are planning to hack Sanral because of the way they evicted informal settlers in Lwandle (Strand). They did something wrong. We want to hack them and get the message out that what they did was wrong. We can quite easily take down their website.”
The group said they had 90 members spread across the city.
Another masked member said he joined the group because he did not want to work with an NGO “because they have their own focus and agendas”. “The mask says what I’m doing is not to gain credit for myself. I could be anyone and we are all trying to help out. Anyone can be part of us and make a difference.”
They also participated in beach and railway line clean-ups, and fed the hungry and poor, aside from participating in public protests.
“Today we are engaging with the public so that when they see us doing things in future they will know who we are. We are willing to get out there and help in any way we can. We want to see results,” he said.
The group handed out flyers to passersby and also invited them to join The Big Hug, an event planned for July 26 at the Sea Point Promenade.
Weekend Argus