Rob Graham (ErrataSec) has a fun post about Anonymous threats against the NYSE. In it:
The NYSE runs a completely separate network. Well, lots of people say this, like the operators of the power grid, and it’s rarely true. But it’s true in the case of the NYSE: I doubt hackers will find a way from the Internet into the NYSE private network.
But, there are lots of things on the NYSE private network, such as terminals on the desks of traders among the members of the NYSE. If a hacker could get physical access to one of those terminals, he could do a lot of damage.
If that doesn’t scream traditional espionage/infiltration… Which would be quite the interesting attack, and one I’m sure has been on their minds for decades: insiders who either have hacking skills or facilitate access to those who do. Can Anonymous do that? Probably not, but I’d also wonder why they would want to. It’s not like they’ll drive off the fat cats and then sit back and live happily on themselves; such an event would have dramatic effects on their own lives, in not good ways. Then again, that might fit into someone’s anarchist viewpoint…