Anonymous
In short
Anonymous is a decentralised, international hacktivist collective that carries out cyberattacks against governments, religious organisations, and corporations.
In plain words
It is not a single group with a leader or a headquarters. Instead, anyone can claim to be part of it to protest against perceived injustices. They use digital tools to disrupt websites and leak private data.
A simple example
The group might launch a Distributed Denial of Service attack to crash a government website during a political protest. This makes the site unavailable to regular citizens for a period of time.
Why it matters
They demonstrate how small groups of individuals can challenge powerful institutions using only computers. Their actions often draw global attention to specific political or social causes.
Easy to mix up
Do not confuse the group with a specific person or a formal organisation, as there is no central membership list.