Fall's knocking on the door

Is it just me or is there already a sense of autumn in the air? According to the calendar, it's still summer, but the weather as well as the leaves falling of the sky tell otherwise.

Anyway, I recently discovered a beautiful song that captures this mood, as I think, very well:

 

  

CAJ_How hacktivists benefit from the Deep Web

I have to acknowledge that I have never even heard of the term Deep Web myself until I read an article about it in the newspaper Die Presse. Apparently the article’s authors were also quite clueless about it because they hired an IT expert who navigated them through this rather dangerous version of the WWW. In my understanding, it is the utterly uncensored version of the Internet, the one where not only adult content, but also illegal products of all sorts are available – all of it in the greatest excess possible.

More exactly, it is a hidden part of the Web, one that search engines cannot find and which can be accessed by using the software TOR (The Onion Router) that I previously mentioned. TOR can be purchased free of charge and enables its users to surf the Internet in a totally anonymous way. Once you’ve installed it, all you have to do is to open a special domain mainly comprised of numbers and you can start to browse. However, there's no search engine that helps you navigating through the vastness of the Web (allegedly, the Deep Web is 550 times bigger than its “visible” counterpart, the WWW). You have to manage that all by yourself.

Of course, this anonymity as well as the lack of censorship also appeal to criminals. The Deep Web is a prominent place of transshipment where all kinds of drugs, illegal arms and fake passports are traded. The common currency is Bitcoin. The Deep Web is also a place that is of great use to hacktivists, since they are able to flee the NSA as well as censorship. When they want to publish leaked information, they can do so on various sites and hope that somehow, this information will find its way to the surface. This meeting place for hacktivists eventually resulted in the creation of various hacktivism groups such as “Movement of Torism”. This group considers themselves to be a defender of anonymity as well as a bulwark against surveillance.

This was also about the only positive aspect I could find regarding this subject, because in my opinion, the Deep Web is mostly a place where crime is in full bloom and where sinister stuff is available.

CAJ_The most famous hacktivists

The most famous group of hacktivists of our times arguably is WikiLeaks, the individuals behind the leak of various documents related to the Afghanistan war and the Iraq war. With Julian Assange being the mastermind of the project, the organization has had its fair share of scandals. In 2010, Assange was persecuted for allegedly sexual offenses against two women in Sweden which he fled only to be taken in custody in London a few months later. A lot of controversy surrounded this arrest, with many people being suspicious about its timing. It just seemed a bit too convenient for US authorities to have him locked up behind the pen at a critical time for the US government. Whether he is guilty or not has not been decided yet to this very moment – it would arguably be a big disappointment for his supporters and a great victory for his critics if he indeed happened to be guilty.

But what is it that makes the hacktivists behind WikiLeaks as well as its founder such controversial figures? Well, first of all, they released the Afghan War Diary, a compilation of over 70000 documents revealing among other things the controversial relations US intelligent services had with the Taliban during the war, even citing increased Taliban attacks. In 2013, they released details about the CEOs of 20 surveillance companies in Europe.

WikiLeaks is comprised of several well-known hacktivists such as Assange’s former buddy Daniel Domscheit-Berg (now they are estranged with Domscheit_Berg having created his own whistleblower organization named OpenLeaks), the vast majority of its hackers, however, remains unknown to the public. But Assange himself might very well be its most colorful figure. Having been raised by a very anti-authoritarian mother, the Australian seemed predestined for later whistleblower activities. The lack of respect for authorities is something a lot of hacktivists seem to have in common anyway.

Even though Assange as well as Edward Snowden are probably the most well-known hacktivists/ whistleblowers in the public’s eye, I’ve always wondered if there weren’t other, much lesser-known hacktivists possessing as explosive material as the former two. They only distinguish themselves from the former two in regard of the fact that they do not get that much coverage by the media. One of them is the hackitivist Jacob Appelbaum who is currently living in Germany due to better privacy conditions. He created the portmanteau hacktivism and also is in favor of TOR, which is the abbreviation of The Onion Router, a network that enables Internet users to remain totally anonymous while surfing and also allows one to dive into the so-called Deep Web. But more on that later.

How instant photographs work

 

Polaroid cameras have been in use for such a long time now that even one’s grandparents have probably taken pictures with them. Even though instant photography might be considered old-fashioned by some, there are others who appreciate it as a nostalgic and useful tool to taking pictures. The process of a photograph developed right in front your eyes can actually be described as a chemical reaction.
 

Instant Polaroid film consists of three different layers. Each has a dye coupler layer between them. The top of these layers is completed with yet another set of layers: an image layer, an acid layer as well as a timing layer.
 

The different color layers:
 

 

The aforementioned chemical reaction is started by the so-called re-agent. This product essentially is a combination of white pigments, alkali and opacifier. The opacifier and alkali are crucial elements since they function as a light blocker and an acid neutralizer, respectively. This mixture of products is spread all over the frame of the film. Out of this reason, polaroids also have a white frame around the outside of the film.
 

While taking a picture with a Polaroid camera, the pushing out of the film happens automatically due to small rollers inside the camera. This is when the re-agent is spread across the film. But how does the color blending that is necessary for a proper picture work? Well, it is now that the chemical reaction comes into full motion: While the colors from the dye layers rise up from the lower layers, the acid layer also goes up to the top. Meanwhile, the re-agent does his work from above. As soon as the meeting between the two chemicals occurs, there is a reaction between the alkali and opacifier in order to make the re-agent turn clear.

Now you just have to wait for the slowly, but steadily appearing image to become a piece of developed film.

(Note: I apologize for the parts in white. I've repeatedly tried to remove the white highlights, but it just won't work)


 

(313 words)

Photography Project - Evaluate Instructions

The instructions for making a camera lucida are generally not well organized but still manage to give the most essential information. As soon as looking at the instructions, one gets confused as where to begin. After eventually finding the start and continuing reading, the confusion grows as one does not know what to glue together exactly. The general lack of numbered steps makes the instructions seem more complicated than necessary. While the drawings provide details for the construction of the camera, the text merely instructs the reader briefly in terms of what actions to perform. The text also does not contain a list of needed materials or tools, which would be very helpful. Another unhelpful part is that a certain David Hockney is mentioned but the reader has no idea who this is supposed to be, so it is a irrelevant information and could simply be left out. Although the text is rather confusing than helpful and although its references to the drawings are unclear, the construction of a camera lucida with the help of these instructions is generally speaking doable.

 

(181 words)

CAJ_An introduction to hacktivism

 

 

Hacktivism - criminal or clever ?? 

 

Since it's time for us to get started with our CAJ's, I thought I'll just do a quick introduction on the topic.  Although I guess that everybody kinda knows the term, it is probably difficult to define it. Is it just about the crazy Julian Assange guy and the criminal Anonymous pinching data from other people's computers? Is it the gouvernment that is outrageously criminal or the sneaky hackers? May the questions rest in peace for now and let's start instead with a definition:

 

"Hacktivism is the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for a politically or socially motivated purpose. The individual who performs an act of hacktivism is said to be a hacktivist. A hacktivist uses the same tools and techniques as a hacker, but does so in order to disrupt services and bring attention to a political or social cause." 

(source: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/hacktivism)

The term “hacktivism” itself is a portmanteau of hack and activism and already indicates a fusion of the negative and the positive. In my CAJ, I am not only going to explore the political hacktivism inspired by the hackers’ political ideals, but also the criminal variation called cyberterrorism. Hacktivism uses cyber attacks based on political motivations to promote a specific cause. As opposed to the hacking industry intent on data theft, hacktivism is not motivated by money and high visibility is key.

I am further going to explore the different forms of hacktivism, take a close look at the most famous hacktivists and various experts on the field. Since hacktivism can partly also be performed by amateurs, popular hacktivism techniques will also be addressed. Another item will be popular hacktivism campaigns as well as the extent to which whistleblowers are threatened by governments or other stakeholders in politics.

Photography Project: Descriptive Text "Migrant Mother"

The black and white picture “Migrant Mother” taken by famous photographer Dorothea Lange shows a Native American woman, probably in her 30s, holding a little baby in her arms while being surrounded by two toddlers leaning against their mother’s shoulder. They are hiding their faces, be it out of sombreness, embarrassment or shyness in front of the camera. The simple, slightly ragged yet proper clothes cannot distract from the sad and sorrowful atmosphere that is created by the little family huddled tightly together outside their simple tent. Her hand’s fingertips are resting thoughtfully against her lower jaw. When closely regarding the mother’s face in detail one can see that her face has been wrinkled by raw weather and the worries of her unforgiving life. With her lined forehead and her gaze into the distance, she seems to be troubled by her and her children’s uncertain future. Despite her obvious misery there lies a certain determination and strength in her appearance, as if she was a lonely wolf mother protecting her pups from the woes

of the world.   

                                                                                                                                      

(176 words)