Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is already dealing with rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich, but he might soon have to deal with another threat: The group of hackers known as Anonymous.
The hacking group is urging its followers to launch a barrage of cyberattacks on April 1 to take down Trump’s websites and expose the “appalling” GOP presidential candidate, The Hill reported Tuesday.
The call was made before Trump won several more states on “Super Tuesday 3”, but that undoubtedly will encourage the hackers even more.
“We need you to shut down his websites, research and expose what he doesn’t want the public to know,” a person wearing the group’s trademark Guy Fawkes mask said in a video posted by to an Anonymous YouTube channel. “We need you to dismantle his campaign and sabotage his brand.”
In a separate written statement, Anonymous encouraged hackers to target the Trump's websites, and it also released Trump’s alleged personal details, such as his cellphone number and Social Security number, to help hackers harass the Republican presidential front-runner.
“Dear Donald Trump, we have been watching you for a long time, and what we see is deeply disturbing,” the video says, according to The Hill. “You have shocked the entire planet with your appalling actions and ideals.”
“You say what your current audience wants to hear, but in reality you don’t stand for anything except your personal greed and power,” it adds.
The group insisted Operation Trump, or #OpTrump as it called it, is “important” given Trump’s “disturbing” policy positions.
“This is not a warning, this is a declaration of total war,” the video says. “Operation Trump engaged.”
Anonymous has in recent months declared war on the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group and later claimed to have taken down more than 5,500 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS.
Anonymous is responsible for several large hacking attacks in recent years and has also threatened Israel with massive cyberattacks which have mostly been a failure.