Cyber-attacks feared after killing

POLICE SHOOTING: Hacktivists claim victim as one of their own, vow revenge against RCMP

The fatal police shooting of a masked man associated with the international hackers’ group Anonymous has set the stage for an unprecedented escalation in online attacks across Canada, says a technology expert.

Independent tech analyst Carmi Levy said this incident should be “sounding a very loud alarm,” but the Canadian government is failing to take the hazard seriously.

“It’s a whole new threat level,” Levy said in an interview Monday.

Mounties shot and killed a man Thursday evening outside a restaurant in Dawson Creek, where a hearing for the controversial Site C hydroelectric dam was taking place.

The B.C. Coroners Service identified the man as James McIntyre, 48, of Dawson Creek. McIntyre worked as a dishwasher and cook’s assistant at Le’s Family Restaurant on 8th Street for almost four years.

Owner Le Nguyen said he knew little about McIntyre, saying he seemed like a “normal guy.”

“He was a hard worker,” he told the Alaska Highway News at the restaurant Sunday, saying he “didn’t know anything about him as a person.”

Police said they shot the man after he refused to comply with officers’ instructions. He later died in hospital. Eyewitness video posted online showed a man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask lying bloodied on the ground while two Mounties faced him with weapons drawn.

The smiling Fawkes mask has become a symbol for Anonymous since its high-profile attack against the Church of Scientology in 2008. Fawkes was the most well-known member of a plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605.

The hacktivist group issued a news release claiming the man killed Thursday as one of its own and vowed revenge against the RCMP.

It promised to identify the officer involved and release his personal information on the Internet.

The group claimed responsibility for temporarily disrupting the RCMP’s main website and website for its Dawson Creek detachment.

B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton confirmed there was a cyber-threat against the RCMP and expressed concern for the officers involved. “Police want to keep people safe,” she said. “They don’t like it when situations like this happen. It’s very difficult for everyone.”

The province’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting and said a knife has been seized.