A federal indictment unsealed today alleges that a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack by a Connecticut resident who “was affiliated with Anonymous” brought down KISS band member Gene Simmons’ web site last year.
The felony charges allege that Poe and other unnamed co-conspirators used an open source software program to send large amounts of packets and requests to overwhelm GeneSimmons.com servers and bring the musician’s e-commerce site down.
But why did the attacks target the outspoken KISS co-founder?
Apparently because Simmons had harsh words about file-sharing at a music industry convention in Europe, MIPCOM 2010:
“Make sure your brand is protected. Make sure there are no incursions. Be litigious. Sue everybody. Take their homes, their cars. Don’t let anybody cross that line.”
You can watch and listen to Simmons deliver his keynote panel speech here, and see how he reigns over a multi-million dollar licensing empire of the rock group’s brand: legally, its intellectual property:
Citing Simmons’ own words, Anonymous reportedly issued a communiqué with details on how and why supporters could target Simmons web site.
You can read the allegations in the indictment below:
Indictment, United States v. Kevin George Poe a/k/a “spydr101” (U.S. District Ct., C.D. CA)
