‘Anonymous’ mask appears on Peterborough cenotaph

By Tyler Renaud

BELLEVILLE – The cenotaph in Peterborough was outfitted with a Guy Fawkes mask and signs protesting Bill C-51 early Wednesday morning.

The Peterborough Examiner reported earlier today that a group of activists have claimed responsibility. Peterborough police told QNet News on Wednesday morning they will not be commenting on the matter.

The Peterborough cenotaph is a memorial dedicated to city residents who died in war.

The mask found on the cenotaph is a universal sign for Anonymous, a “hacktivist” group.

Anonymous uses “distributed denial-of-service” (DDoS) attacks to make computer networks belonging to their targets unavailable to users. A DDoS attack is when an attacker tries to overload a server by saturating it with external communications requests. This normally results in a total shutdown of the server, crashing the targeted website.

The group has carried out attacks on various websites including those belonging to Sony, U.S Department of Defense, the Church of Scientology and various electronic payment sites for their condemning of WikiLeaks.

Guy Fawkes originally created the mask’s design for a failed plot in which he and his followers famously tried to destroy the House of Lords in London, England in the 17th century.  In the modern day, it has been worn by members of Anonymous.