A hacker group has threatened to attack the www.malaysia.gov.my website. The group, which calls itself Anonymous, said it will launch the attack at 7.30pm GMT on Wednesday (3.30am Thursday Malaysian time) and has named it “Operation Malaysia.” It posted the threat in a graphic on this website, http://i.imgur.com/PTFWh.png.

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at the F-Secure Corporation – a computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland – tweeted about the threat at 4.42am Malaysian time. No other details were available at this time. It is also not known why Anonymous has targeted the Malaysian website.

But there has been an uptick in “hacktivism” these past weeks, where hacker groups have targeted various organizations for political purposes. Hackers have attacked the International Monetary Fund and Sony PlayStation Network, as well as the networks of aeronautics company Lockheed Martin Corp and Citibank in North America, amongst others.

Anonymous was blamed for the hack into the PlayStation network but a spokesman for the group has denied involvement, saying that its aims are political. Spain, however, has arrested three suspected members of the hacker group for that attack.

Anonymous apparently comprises a vast number of hackers in various countries, who have been organized into cells that share common goals. They operate anonymously but in a co-ordinated fashion. Thus far 3 suspects have been arrested in Spain, and 32 more in Turkey.

On June 12, 2011, there was a DDoS attack on the website of the Spanish Police, starting at 21:30 GMT. Anonymous claimed responsibility the following day, stating that the attack was a “direct response to the Friday arrests of three individuals alleged to be associated with acts of cyber civil disobedience attributed to Anonymous.” www.policia.es was down for aproximately an hour as a result of their efforts.

Greetings, Malaysia, We have seen the censorship taken by the Malaysian government, blocking sites like The Pirate Bay, and WikiLeaks. Malaysia is one of the world’s strictest governments, even blocking out movies, and television shows. These acts of censorship are inexcusable. You are taking away a basic human right. The internet is here for freedom, without fear of government interference. Do not think that no one else notices. Your structured government has done the talking, and we hear loud and clear. Let this be an announcement to all your people. This is a sign, a warning, and an opportunity to listen to ideas above your own. In a way you are being stubborn. But how will this help anyone or your country. We fear that if you make further decisions to take away human freedom. We are obligated to act fast and have no mercy. For rules were meant to be broken. And corruption was meant to be washed away and forgiven. Now we will wash your corruption away so be prepared. Take this as a favor.

We are Anonymous.