Who is that masked man? A member of a worldwide collective that's been deified, demonized and a source of confusion, that's who. Participants have even been compared to terrorists who use keystrokes, not bombs, to wreak havoc.
They are Anonymous - the radical, leader-less global network of "hack-tivists." These pranksters and freedom-fighters have hacked their way to infamy, using cyberspace as a powerful, wide-reaching forum for civil disobedience in the digital age.
Whether you view Anonymous as well-intentioned Robin Hoods or dangerously anarchistic variations on The Joker - an image prompted by the Guy Fawkes masks that many wear to protect their identities - one thing is clear.
Anonymous and other new media protest phenomena, such as the Occupy movement and WikiLeaks, have let the genie out of the bottle.
It's no wonder, as someone says in Brian Knappen-berger's documentary We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, that such groups "scare the s---out of the powers-that-be."
We Are Legion, which screens Nov. 14 and 15 at Cinecenta, is a fascinating, albeit lopsided, primer on the prankster roots of hacker-activist groups such as Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theatre that gave rise to Chris Pool's site 4Chan.
Known for its extreme, anything-goes message boards like "/b/", 4Chan spawned Anonymous.
What was once a cyber curiosity now has its own culture and even language, with terms like "moralfag" - newbies mocked for wanting to use their tools as a force for good rather than laughs. It has also entered the mainstream with high-profile hijinks.
Determined to protect free speech and obliterate oppression, Anonymous in 2008 famously mobilized massive real-world protests against the Church of Scientology for infringing on freedom of speech, a testament to its widespread support online.
Its "cyber sit-ins" include targeting Sony, cyber-security firm HBGary Federal and The Motion Picture Association of America, and bombarding websites for Master-card, Visa and Paypal with distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attacks that shut them down.
The goal of Operation Payback was to retaliate against the companies for refusing to process donations to WikiLeaks.
This amorphous group has also taken aim at openly racist New Jersey radio host Hal Turner, and assisted the Occupy movement and revolutionaries in Tunisia and Egypt during the Arab spring.
"Egypt broke us emotionally," says Commander X, founding member of hack-tivist group the People's Liberation Front, recalling how hacktivists worked with foreign volunteers to restore Internet access when former President Mubarek shut it down to quell dissent.
"Watching people get massacred in real time on live feeds we set up - I have never in my cyber-activism wept before."
We are Legion could have used more dissenting voices, such as input from hackers who embrace LulzSec, an extreme offshoot that pulls more vicious stunts. LulzSec hackers resent Anony-mous's perceived abandonment of just-for-laughs mischief for newfound activism.
Still, Knappenberger, a former Frontline producer, effectively melds striking footage and commentary from scholars and various "Anons" - from masked vigilantes with distorted voices to the likes of Mercedes Renee Haefer, an "Internet denizen" arrested for her alleged involvement in Operation Payback. It neatly puts the loose-knit network's existence into historical perspective.
"Your opinion matters," says Haefer, whose alleged online activism with Anonymous, which has hijacked the websites of organizations including the CIA and FBI, could land her 15 years behind bars. It's a jail term the cheeky but articulate activist ironically notes is longer than what a pedophile would face.
Colourful commentary from interviewees, including Joshua Corman - a security strategist who cautions, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that they themselves don't become one" - is complemented by compelling factoids.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, we're reminded, were once electronic mischief-makers themselves.
Knappenberger's on-camera subjects include Aaron Barr, HBGary Federal's former CEO, who was on a crusade against WikiLeaks and who allegedly recommended attacks on Anonymous and media supporters.
In retaliation, AnonOps hacked into his Twitter account, released thousands of internal emails and brought down his website.
"I have to give him some credit for being in the film. It's kind of gutsy," says Knappenberger. "I don't think anyone that loves WikiLeaks is going to listen to Aaron and say, 'I hate WikiLeaks now,' but he has the right to say what he's feeling."
It was surprisingly easy for Knappenberger to "find and engage" Anonymous members. "There's value in understanding where they're coming from," he said. "It doesn't necessarily mean you agree with them. It just means you're listening."
He denies being too sympathetic. "I think we criticize Anonymous a fair amount," he said.
"Attacking the press, for example, is absurd for a freedom-of-speech group.
The large-scale Ddos-ing of people's personal information, even if it's trying to prove that some big bad corporation isn't a good steward of your information. ... It still has a lot of collateral damage, and that's not great."
His biggest challenge? Keeping up on the action.
The film was finished before the hacker group revealed the identity of the alleged New Westminster-based online bully they believed drove Port Coquitlam teenager Amanda Todd to commit suicide.
"Anonymous comes from a kind of pranking, some might even say bullying, kind of culture," he said.
"This girl was harassed and they were deeply offended by that. It's a very interesting case. It could become a short film itself."
Trailer for We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivistshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny1vT9A9RBc
