The hacktivists of Anonymous are often dismissed as unskilled noobs. But now the Department of Homeland Security has called out Anonymous as "script kiddies" with rudimentary hacking skills. Oh no they didn't.

The unclassified July 19 DHS bulletin on Anonymous and LulzSec reads:

The actors who make up the hacker group "Anonymous" and several likely related offshoots like "LulzSec", continue to harass public and private sector entities with rudimentary exploits and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) commonly associated with less skilled hackers referred to as "Script Kiddies".

However, Despite Anonymous' lack of leet skillz, "their success to date executing operations and gaining media attention is on par with high profile incidents allegedly involving sophisticated "Advanced Persistent Threat" (APT) actors." And, the briefing grudgingly admits that "some members of LulzSec have demonstrated moderately higher levels of skill and creativity."

This is pretty much accurate. The digital feats of Anonymous—mostly taking down corporate websites with the push-button Low Orbit Ion Cannon software—pales in comparison to something like the recently revealed Operation Shady RAT, which resulted in super-secret stuff stolen from dozens of very hardened targets. Even LulzSec picked low-hanging fruit on occasion, stealing information from systems with very obvious security flaws. Anonymous and LulzSec have always valued savvy public relations over technical prowess.

Still, are you really gonna let DHS get away with calling you guys script kiddies, Anonymous? At the very least, release a couple dozen dramatic YouTube videos with the mask and that voice-changey thing you always do. [Image via Getty]