Government is braced for Extinction Rebellion CYBER ATTACK over the weekend - Culture

Civil servants have been warned they could be the victim of a cyber attack by climate change activists.

Parliament’s online security body has warned that Extinction Rebellion could attempt to target officials working for parliamentary committees to access social media accounts.

In an email entitled ”cyber security threat this weekend’ Parliamentary Digital Service’s cyber security team warned them to update and strengthen passwords and check official accounts over the bank holiday weekend for any ‘suspicious activity’, the Guido Fawkes blog reported.

It came as police arrested two climate activists on Friday as the resumption of Extinction Rebellion’s protests following a coronavirus-forced hiatus saw the pair target oil firm Shell’s main London office.

Activists from Extinction Rebellion unfurled a banner on Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament today

Protesters holding placards take part in a demonstration organised by XR outside the Shell building in London today

An Extinction Rebellion demonstrator is arrested after spray painting hand prints on the Senate House in Cambridge

Several arrests were made in Cambridge after protesters spray painted hands on university buildings. One, left, wore a green ensemble as she campaigned for more environmental policies

The group, pictured in London today, are calling for Shell to stop all exploration for oil and gas & begins a rapid process of ending fossil fuel extraction

Police arrested two climate activists as the resumption of XR’s protests following a coronavirus-forced hiatus saw the pair target oil firm Shell’s main London office today

Protesters holding placards take part in a demonstration organised by XR outside the Shell building in London today

They had painted the word ‘lies’ in large green letters on the glass front doors of the building as other protesters held up a banner.

‘Officers attended and two women aged 33 and 47 were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Both remain in custody,’ a police spokesman said.

Extinction Rebellion, whose protests brought parts of London and other cities to a halt last year, has said it is restarting mass demonstrations this week having paused them earlier in the year due to the coronavirus.

It plans to target airports and impose roadblocks during the bank holiday weekend as it kicks off a new programme of climate change demonstrations.

Beginning today a ‘regional rebellion’ over four days will see protests staged across the country, including in London, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff and Leeds.

Extinction Rebellion climate change protesters and activists unfurl banners on Westminster Bridge against the Shell oil company in London today

Extinction Rebellion climate change protesters and activists next to the London Eye today

XR protesters and activists unfurl banners on Westminster Bridge against Shell today

A protester takes part in a demonstration organised by the environmental group Extinction Rebellion in London today

A protester holding placards takes part in a demonstration organised by Extinction Rebellion at Shell building in London today

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on travel, protesters are encouraged to take action locally with the aviation sector, banks, the fossil fuel industry and petrol stations as targets.

The protests are being held ahead of larger-scale demonstrations planned for London, Manchester and Cardiff on September 1.

Protests this weekend are expected to include roadblocks, marches, sit-ins, bike rides and picnics, with campaigners emphasising their ethos of ‘non-violent direct action’.

XR supporters will also be encouraged to protest digitally, and urged to phone their MPs and ‘institutions of power’.

Police officers drive past a protester holding a placard as he takes part in a demonstration outside the Shell building today

Protesters holding placards take part in a demonstration organised by the environmental group outside the Shell building today

Charlie Siret, 19, and Fern, 18, locked themselves together and blocked the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol last night

Anneka Sutcliffe, from XR Actions Circle, said a ‘few thousand’ people had indicated on Facebook they would join the London events, but numbers were expected to be lower than at demonstrations held in October.

Converging marches will start from Tate Britain, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral and Smithfield Market.

Other protests will include a roadblock on Prince Street Bridge in Bristol, a mass bike ride from Brighton to London, banner drops and rallies against the expansion of Luton Airport and the aviation industry at Gatwick Airport.

Avon and Somerset Police said the Clifton Suspension Bridge would close from midnight on Thursday because of the Bristol protest, and could be shut until 6am on Tuesday at the earliest.

What events are Extinction Rebellion planning over their four-day ‘regional rebellion’?

FRIDAY

BANNER DROP – UK-WIDE – Extinction Rebellion is asking local groups to ‘hang their banners to Tell The Truth about the climate and ecological emergency’.
8.30am – BRISTOL: Activists plan to block the Prince Street Bridge to address the ‘climate and ecological emergency’
9.30am – NORWICH: XR demonstrators will gather at Whitlingham Country Park for what is being dubbed the ‘Tour de Norwich’
11AM – BIRMINGHAM: THE ‘Midlands HS2 Rebellion’ at Eastside Park in Birmingham will see people invited to dress either as an animal, tree or flower ‘threatened by HS2 destruction’ or in funeral attire. They will form a slow funeral march to the HS2 headquarters where they will hold a ‘die-in’.
12pm – MANCHESTER: A protest against plans for the High Speed 2 rail network as part of the ‘Northern HS2 Rebellion’
2.30pm – CAMBRIDGE: Activists will gather for the ‘Oily Handed March’ at Senate House, which will see them march through Cambridge to demand the university and colleges divest from fossil fuel companies.
2.30pm – CENTRAL LONDON: Activists lobbying against Shell from XR Lambeth, XR Southwark and XR Wandsworth will gather at Jubilee Gardens
6pm – BRIGHTON TO LONDON: A mass bike ride entitled ‘Swarm to the Rebellion’

SATURDAY

AIRPORTS AND AVIATION – UK-WIDE: XR said there ‘should be No Going Back’ to the airline industries following the coronavirus pandemic.
10AM – SOUTH LONDON: The Sutton, Merton, Croydon and Kingston XR groups are joining forces opposite the Pavillion Cafeat Beddington Park to stage actions highlighting the issues around the Beddington Incinerator.
11AM – NORTH LONDON: Activists from seven North London groups will gather at Edmonton Green in Enfield for a day opposing the Edmonton incinerator.
11AM – BISHOP’S STORTFORD: A mass action at Bishop’s Stortford station protesting the expansion of airports including the nearby London Stansted
11AM – LEWIS: A funeral march dubbed a ‘Procession for the Planet’ on Westgate Street, including a jazz band and black-clad mourners. The protest will later change to ‘celebrate joyously the beauty and power of nature’.
12PM – BRIGHTON: The ‘We want to live March’ will take place at Brighton Pavillion, involving XR groups from Lewes, Shoreham, Worthing and Brighton who will march along Brighton seafront to call for change.
12PM – LONDON, OXFORD, CARDIFF, LEICESTER, YORK – Parents are encouraged to come with their babies and/or older children to ‘peacefully feed and play in protest at fossil fuel bailouts and the failure to transition to a green economy’. The London action is happening at the Bank of England.
2PM – TBC: A protest planned to cancel the expansion of Luton Airport
2.30PM – GATWICK: A ‘Mad Hatters’ Tea Party’ at Gatwick Airport South Terminal, with activists encouraged to ‘bring a picnic, dress up if you want, and protest with us about the government’s and the aviation industry’s lack of action to take radical steps towards zero carbon’.
3PM – LEEDS: A protest starting at Millennium Square in Leeds is aimed at stopping the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport. Activists are taking a bike ride across the region with the aim of showing people in West Yorkshire how far they believe the noise pollution will travel if the expansion is approved.
4PM – BRIGHTON: A march along Brighton seafront and then towards London will take place with a ‘Lightship called Greta’

SUNDAY

TRUST THE PEOPLE – UK-WIDE: XR said activists will ‘get together online, in parks, and maybe even in roads to talk, listen and connect beyond our bubbles’ and learn ‘how all of our intersecting crises are connected’.
12PM – MANCHESTER: A ‘Making History March’ from Manchester Cathedral will look at the city’s relationship with slavery and colonialism.

MONDAY

BANKS AND FINANCE – UK-WIDE: Proters will be arguing that the ‘world of dirty finance should be taking a permanent ‘holiday’ from destructive dealings and propping-up polluters’.
11AM – BIRMINGHAM: A protest at 130 New Street will urge HSBC to ‘divest from these polluters’ and involve ‘theatrical action’ with members from XR Youth.
11AM – NORWICH: A ‘Drumming for Divestment’ march will ask banks and financial services companies to ‘Act Now and divest from fossil fuel investments, whether they be pension funds or other investment vehicles’/
1PM – CAMBRIDGE: Extinction Rebellion Cambridge invites every citizen to ‘flood the streets’ from Parker’s Piece and ‘join a colourful and dramatic oceanic themed march through Cambridge with music and drumming, where we will highlight the plight of the oceans and seas’.