5 Things Every Organization Can Learn From Anonymous

Parmy Olson | Forbes | June 5, 2012

You may find them annoying. You may find them threatening. But there’s no denying that Anonymous is still one of the most prevalent, powerful and decentralized movements out there.

Though largely misunderstood, various groups within the hacktivist and trolling phenomenon have continued to work in secret, waging the odd cyber protest, or stealing and publishing data in acts of Robin-Hood style vigilanteism against governments, companies and individuals.

The aims aren’t always clear, but somehow in the last few years Anonymous has become the number one perceived threat among people who work in IT security, and it refuses to leave the headlines. The movement’s ability to survive speaks to the power of leaderless groups, crowd sourcing and spontaneity. Here are 5 ways that traditional organizations — from companies, to start-ups, to charities — can learn from the mysterious power of hacktivists and internet trolls in Anonymous...