HBGary CEO resigns after total pwnage by Anonymous
If now-former HBGary CEO Aaron Barr has learned one thing from his attempt to take on Anonymous, it’s that- as Stephen Colbert so succinctly put it- you should not stick your dick in the hornet’s nest. Or at least, expect to suffer many penis-stings.
Just coming in to this story now? Barr was targeted by the loosely-knit group after he told the Financial Times that the security firm planned to speak to the FBI about Anonymous’ activities. In the ensuing large scale raid, Barr’s iPad was wiped, his World of Warcraft character revealed, personal details of his life including marital woes were released, and a treasure trove of information was found in his personal email showing that the firm planned to discredit Wikileaks on behalf of a large financial institution believed to be Bank of America. The leaked emails also revealed an intent to “disrupt” Salon writer and vocal Wikileaks supporter Glenn Greenwald.
Barr slunk away from his position today, saying he felt hopeful HBGary could recover from being totally pwned by the hacktivist group:
“I need to focus on taking care of my family and rebuilding my reputation,” Barr said in a phone interview. “It’s been a challenge to do that and run a company. And, given that I’ve been the focus of much of bad press, I hope that, by leaving, HBGary and HBGary Federal can get away from some of that. I’m confident they’ll be able to weather this storm.”
Aside from embarrassing Barr and HB Gary, the leaked information called the ethics of the company into question and cast the firm in an undeniably unflattering light.
