Anonymous hacker goes after Philadelphia
A fight between the city and a developer goes viral and leads to threat from Anonymous hacker.
Anonymous, the loosely knit group of hackers that has threatened computer systems around the globe, appears to have issued a warning to Philadelphia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-mhWVFBzus
Heard in the Hall is using the word "appears" because while the style of the video is consistent with the past work of Anonymous, it's not like we can call anyone to ask for confirmation.
The video resulted from a dispute between developer Ori Feibush and the city over his decision to clean and landscape a lot owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. More on that disagreement here and here.
The city is taking the video threat seriously.
"We are aware of the video and what it has to say," said Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter. "The factual basis for those statements is utterly false. The city is taking precautions and that is all I have to say about that piece of it."
He also said he would not discuss whether the city had received any further information about the threat from Anonymous and reiterated that the city had cleaned the lot involved in the Feibush dispute multiple times. He also said the developer had no right to transform a lot he didn't own into seating for his coffee shop.
At 4 p.m. Friday, Ed Covington, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Re-development Authority, will discuss the status of the property at the site, 1138-42 South 20th Street.
Feibush did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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