What Is Hacktivism?

What Is Hacktivism?

Let me explain what hacktivism really is. It's a form of social or political activism that involves breaking into secure computer systems and causing disruption. The term combines 'hacking' and 'activism,' and it's credited to the hacktivist group Cult of the Dead Cow.

Key Takeaways

You need to know that hacktivism means accessing computer systems without permission and altering them to impact individuals or organizations. Targets can include everything from religious groups to drug dealers and pedophiles. Some activists, like those in Occupy Wall Street or protests against the Church of Scientology, combine hacktivism with physical protests. Hacktivists employ techniques such as doxing, denial of service attacks, anonymous blogging, information leaks, and website replication. Their goals often involve bypassing government censorship, helping citizens evade firewalls, organizing protests, and using social media to advance human rights. Well-known groups include Anonymous, Legion of Doom, Masters of Deception, and Chaos Computer Club.

Understanding Hacktivism

Hacktivism typically targets corporations or governments. Those who do it are called hacktivists, and they go after religious organizations, terrorists, drug dealers, and pedophiles. For instance, a denial of service attack shuts down systems to block customer access. Other examples include giving citizens access to censored government web pages or providing secure communication for groups under threat, like Syrians during the Arab Spring.

Hacktivists use methods like distributed denial of service attacks that overwhelm websites or emails with traffic to shut them down temporarily; they also steal data, deface websites, spread viruses and worms with protest messages, hijack social media accounts, and leak sensitive information.

There's debate among hacktivists about which methods are right. They might support free speech, but using DoS attacks, defacements, or data theft can actually suppress it, which contradicts their aims.

These methods are illegal and count as cybercrime, but prosecution is rare because investigations are uncommon. It's hard for law enforcement to identify the hackers, and the damages are often minor.

Hacktivist attacks aren't violent and don't risk physical harm to protesters, unlike street demonstrations, though they might sometimes encourage violence. Hacktivism lets you support causes far away without traveling, and it unites people across distances for common goals.

Important Note on Hacktivism

Remember, hacktivism can replace or support traditional activism like sit-ins and marches. Movements like Occupy Wall Street and protests against the Church of Scientology used both street presence and online attacks.

Types of Hacktivism

Hacktivists rely on various tools and techniques. They might use doxing to collect and publicize sensitive information about a person or organization. Anonymous blogging helps whistleblowers, journalists, and activists highlight issues while staying private. DoS and DDoS attacks flood systems to block access. Information leaks involve insiders releasing classified data that exposes wrongdoing. Website replication creates mirrors of sites with altered URLs to dodge censorship.

Hacktivism Goals

The objectives of hacktivism cover a broad range. They include helping citizens bypass government censorship through firewalls or online organization. Social media is used to promote human rights and connect censored people with the world. Taking down dangerous government sites protects activists. Protecting free speech online, ensuring access to information, supporting uprisings, and providing privacy tools like Tor and Signal are key. Other goals involve disrupting corporate or government power, aiding safe border crossings for immigrants, advancing democracy, protesting globalization and capitalism, opposing wars, and stopping terrorism financing.

Hacktivist Groups

There are thousands of hacktivist groups globally, with notable ones from the 1990s onward including Cult of the Dead Cow, Hacktivismo, Lulz Security, Anonymous, Legion of Doom, The Electronic Disturbance Theater, Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism, Syrian Electronic Army, and AnonGhost. Let me break down a few major ones.

Anonymous

Anonymous stands out as the most iconic hacktivist group, known for cyberattacks on governments, institutions, corporations, and the Church of Scientology.

Legion of Doom (LOD)

Formed in 1984, Legion of Doom became a pivotal hacking group, famous for the Hacker Manifesto that inspired many new hackers.

Masters of Deception (MOD)

From New York, Masters of Deception hacked telephone companies extensively, leading to federal indictments for all members in 1992.

Chaos Computer Club

With about 5,500 members, Chaos Computer Club is Europe's largest hacker association, pushing for government transparency and freedom of information.

How to Prevent Hacktivism

To stop hacktivism, start by listing and identifying all sensitive information in your setup. Conduct regular audits of your environment. Set up multi-factor authentication for logins. Invest in security software or firewalls. Train staff and vendors on proper data handling, storage, and deletion. Develop response procedures for actual attacks.

Real-World Example of Hacktivism

A prime example is Julian Assange of WikiLeaks leaking emails between Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager. These emails reportedly came from Russian hackers aiming to favor Donald Trump in the election. The leak hurt Clinton's campaign, contributing to her loss, and led to the Department of Justice indicting 12 Russian hackers. WikiLeaks aims to defend free speech, improve historical records, and support people's rights to shape history.