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.