New York ( CNN ) -- `` Expect us '' is the favorite tag line for an endless stream of Web videos posted by the Internet collective known as Anonymous . It 's a promise and a threat . In 2011 , galvanized by the national Occupy movement , Anonymous delivered . `` This is what happens when the people have had enough , '' said `` Troy , '' a member of the collective who joined the street protests in New York . `` This is what happens when greed goes unchecked . It 's the closest thing to a global revolution we 've ever gotten . '' From the inception of Occupy Wall Street , Anonymous has had a powerful impact on the movement , promoting it tirelessly through social media in the early days ; driving it forward with Internet campaigns , known as `` ops , '' targeting bankers and politicians ; and ultimately acting as a savage and effective counterforce to what the group sees as a militarized police state . `` Hopefully , he 'll think twice before he pulls out his baton against somebody who 's holding a sign saying we just want peace , '' said Troy , who spent weeks monitoring and videotaping New York Police Department officers during the height of the Occupy Wall Street protests . The list of police officers and agencies targeted by Anonymous is long . From New York to Oakland , California , cops had their Web sites hacked ; personal information , including the home addresses of specific police officers , was posted online ; and officers who used pepper spray on Occupy protesters , including NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna and Lt. John Pike at the University of California-Davis , saw their entire life histories blasted out in Web videos and document dumps . `` I think [ police ] see it as a form of vigilantism , '' said professor Gabriella Coleman , an anthropologist who studies Anonymous at McGill University in Montreal , Quebec . The collective , Coleman said , `` is pushing the boundaries of the law , but I think some of their actions also reveal the ways that private security companies or police are also acting outside of the boundaries of the law . '' The online intimidation is intended both to punish errant police and serve as a warning to riot cops facing difficult decisions in the heat of often chaotic protests . Police are reluctant to speak publicly about the collective 's activities because Anonymous is so quick to target critics . But privately , they 're furious , especially when Anonymous posts the names of family members . Occasionally , the battle between police and Anonymous erupts on Twitter . Last year , a Los Angeles homicide detective who goes by the name @ LAMurderCop had his personal information dumped online , and he retaliated with a series of sarcastic tweets . `` Let it be known to all , '' he wrote , `` your mainly teenagers in your moms house . U have no skills . '' Anonymous is also the subject of several federal and state investigations , including one by the commonwealth of Massachusetts , which issued subpoenas to Twitter in an investigation of threats directed against Boston police after the department 's website was hacked . Like police , members of Anonymous are also reluctant to speak publicly , both for their own security and because it runs counter to their deeply held belief that the positions held by the collective , expressed through the rolling democracy of the Internet , are far more important than the opinions of any individual anon , or person who participates in Anonymous activities . `` Troy '' agreed to talk to CNN on camera provided we not reveal his real identity . `` There 's no specific group or one person that talks for us , '' he says . `` It 's more like a hive ; an idea is brought up and ... if the overwhelming majority of people agree with it , then we go with it . '' Monitoring and exposing what they see as police misconduct is one of the ideas that caught fire . In one Internet relay chat session , members of the collective who go by the online handle AnonymousIRC said police need to understand that the Internet is unpredictable and uncontrollable . `` We can not control or limit what some individual anon may or may not do , neither is it in our interest , '' they said . `` If some cop finds it funny to mace innocent girls , Internet crowd will hate him . Which will include his family . Like it or not , it 's just what happens . '' This year is expected to bring more protests centered on high-profile gatherings , such as the NATO and G8 summits in Chicago in May and the political conventions in late summer . In the past , those kinds of events have been marked by sometimes violent clashes between protesters and police . This time , Anonymous will be watching .
Member of hacker collective says people have been abused for too long . Group hacks websites of police officers it claims engaged in misconduct . Members rarely speak to the media . With big political events ahead this year , Anonymous promises to be watchful .