Many media outlets reported a possible PayPal hack as well, however PayPal issued a denial, stating they had no evidence of a breach.

Additionally, credit for the Symantec hack may go to a hacker or group of hackers called HTP, not the larger de-centralized mass of Anons.

The ImageShack hack appears pretty comprehensive. In a Pastebin post of ImageShack data, the hackers wrote that "ImageShack has been completely owned, from the ground up. We have had root and physical control of every server and router they own. For years." The data dump included pages of code, email addresses and encrypted passwords.

In addition to the hacks, Anonymous is re-enacting the final scene from the movie V for Vendetta, from which the group was inspired to adopt its now-iconic Guy Fawkes mask. The peaceful action is taking place in Trafalgar Square in London. On the Facebook page for the event, Anonymous writes that the event "is the centrepiece of a worldwide Anonymous operation of global strength and solidarity, a warning to all governments worldwide that if they keep trying to censor, cut, imprison, or silence the free world or the free internet they will not be our governments for much longer. Change is coming."

Anonymous includes an important disclaimer at the bottom of the page: "We will NOT blow up Parliament." A long-standing rumor that Anonymous would target Facebook today is also false:

Again... regarding the Facebook attack... it's FAKE! #kthx

— Anonymous Press (@AnonymousPress) November 5, 2012

So Parliament and Facebook are both safe, but our favorite photo websites circa 2005? Not so much.

Earlier today, NBC's website was hacked. The site returned to normal for a few minutes, but now even the homepage is having problems. This afternoon, users who clicked on the "Shows" or "Full Episodes" tab were shown a black page with glowing lights, loud music, and references to Guy Fawkes Night, which is celebrated on November 5th.  NBC's mobile landing site, Saturday Night Live page, 30 Rock clips, and NBC Sports Rotoworld were also hacked.

Despite the Fawkes reference, Anonymous has not yet taken credit for the hack. A message on the site said "Hacked by pyknic." It's also unclear why NBC was a target. Not a Louis C.K. fan, perhaps?

The defaced page claimed that user info was exposed and passwords were dumped. We've reached out to NBC for comment and will update you as soon as we learn more.

UPDATE 2.30 p.m: The hacker "pyknic" has also taken down the Lady Gaga fansite: GagaDaily.com.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: An NBC representative says the site has been almost entirely restored.

If you have any information about the hack, please email Tips@Betabeat.com.

(Facebook/Anonymous UK-Ireland)

Members of Anonymous in the United Kingdom are planning a public action for November 5, 2012 that may spread to other capital cities around the world. The protest has been dubbed Operation Vendetta, or #OpVendetta, after V for Vendetta, the film that inspired much of Anonymous's ethos as well as the hacktivist collective's adoption of Guy Fawkes masks.

#OpVendetta appears to have been in the planning stages for some time and as InfoSecurity reports, it has the potential to make governments everywhere a little nervous:

Now the various Anonymous groups around the world are supporting each other "for what will be the strongest display of anonymous in the UK so far." While focused on the UK, it is intended to be a worldwide protest, both on the ground and in cyberspace. “On the 5 November 2012 the Anonymous Collective will engage in the largest orchestrated attack on the Governments of the World. The centerpiece will be the re-enactment of the Film V for Vendetta scene at the Houses of Parliament with ground and online protests across the globe," a spokesman from AnonATeam in the UK told Infosecurity.

Anonymous's talent for self-promotion can make it hard to gauge real-world support for their actions, but the Operation Vendetta Facebook page states 3,777 people plan to show on Nov. 5th. Over 1,400 more have indicated they may attend.

The U.K. #OpVendetta page links to a Facebook page for a November 5 event in America: "March on D.C." The U.S. page creators call the March a "Citizens Action" and say they "need to organize a citizens arrest of all parties involved in the various criminal acts that have put our country as well as our world in jeopardy." There could be as many as 2,000 people in attendance.

Naturally, since this is Anonymous we're talking about, the hacktivists told InfoSecurity that "quite a few online protests will be conducted" against government websites on November 5th as well.

We kind of expected that.

(Scene from V for Vendetta--the scene Anonymous U.K. plans to portray on Nov 5.)

One of Mr. Wu's designs. (uproxx.com)

We all know tech is cool now, but did you know hacking circles like Anonymous are actually sartorial tastemakers? Apparently neither did designer Adrian Wu, whose models in his Toronto fashion show sported Guy Fawkes masks, much to the confusion of show attendees.

According to the Toronto Star, Mr. Wu said that the show was meant to demonstrate "specific comparisons between North American politics versus European politics and how it affects human rights by citing the movie V for Vendetta."

While Guy Fawkes masks are certainly an integral component to the 2005 film, they've become much more recognizable as a symbol of Anonymous, the hacker collective that enjoys wreaking havoc all over the Internet.

We applaud Mr. Wu for apparently having avoided the Internet for the past three years, as that takes a special form of dedication we could never master. Furthermore, allowing your most prescient cultural touchstone to be a 2005 film when it is actually the year 2012 takes some serious avoidance of pop culture. Bravo, sir.

UPDATE:

Mr. Wu tweeted at us with some more information: "I'm an educated individual and no it was not inadvertently."

Considering his Internet-y method of delivering this information, we'll have to retract prior misconceived notions about his Internet skills. Our apologies, @soimadrian!