Links being forwarded via Twitter actually make people's PCs part of Anonymous's 'denial of service' attacks against U.S. government sites and anti-piracy organisations 

Twitter users are being tricked into joining Anonymous cyber attacks on U.S. government - and could be jailed

• Links turn any PC into an unwitting part of attack
• Part of 'hacktivist' group Anonymous's cyber attacks
• Retaliation for U.S. strike at file-sharing site

Hacker group Anonymous have become a cult hit on Twitter, with 249,000 followers - but security experts Sophos warn that fans, are being tricked into taking part in its attacks.

Links being forwarded via Twitter actually make people's PCs part of Anonymous's 'denial of service' attacks against U.S. government sites and anti-piracy organisations. 


The links are being forwarded as part of Anonymous's recent 'Operation Megaupload' - a retaliation for the U.S. government 'taking down' a file-sharing site.
They look like ordinary web links, but launch cyber attacks from whatever PC you access them on. 


People who click the links unwittingly become part of Anonymous's attacks - and hit any website that the 'hacktivist' group chooses. 


It's a change of tactics for Anonymous - and security experts warn that claiming you clicked on a link by accident may not be a defense. 


The attacks, a 'denial of service' attack, rely on thousands of PCs sending information to sites at once to crash them. 

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