Hacktivists As Terrorists Essay

In this day and age living in the era of the computer, it has become more mainstream and common to hear of cyber attacks, and crime being committed on the internet. Activism however, has become a prominent way to protest or argue a political view. Using related technologies and the internet have become a vital way for some to share their views. With the rise of the internet, “hacktivism” has become a prominent way for protest groups to express while also promoting a political agenda often related to free speech, human rights, and freedom of information.

An article published by TheWeek.com titled Inside America’s Hacking Epidemic states that cyberattacks initiated by hackers is a growing threat that could lead to a number of serious problems. Some of these problems include the shutting down of the electrical grid and water supply. The author writes, “These cybercriminals can potentially target every aspect of our lives that involves an internet connection. They could suddenly apply the brakes on smart cars or take over a passenger jet’s avionics system.” In this passage, the author is trying to convey that there are many things that hackers can do to cause chaos. Some countries, such as Russia and China, sponsor hacking groups. Hacking groups such as Cozy Bear and Guccifer 2.0 are some examples of hacking groups sponsored by Russia. In conclusion, the author believes that cyberattacks are becoming more threatening and can be catastrophic to all aspects of society.

Schrock attempts to disprove common misconceptions about civic hackers, by suggesting that civic hacking is a form of data activism and advocacy. Early definitions of civic hackers were froth with white hat imagery of tech-savvy geeks that worked with information technology tools to solve or challenge social and civic issues. This notion was met with both hype and cynicism, but ultimately through the modes of requesting, digesting, contributing, modeling, and contesting, civic hackers act as mediators between the government and its citizens. Early vilifying narratives of hackers helped support the idea of government secrecy, but the distinction that “the civic hacker’s institutionally collaborative nature is a primary difference from hackers being defined as antagonistic or subversive,” (Schrock) allowed an eventual collaboration between the government and civic hackers. Despite the friendliness extended by the government towards civic hackers, certain initiatives such as the National Day of Civic Hacking have received critique from the technical community in a time “when the government continues to persecute hacktivists and open-data activists,” (Lennard, salon.com) under the “dangerously broad” (Lennard, salon.com) Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as stated in Natasha Lennard’s article, When the

In todays time just one hacker can infiltrate governments and companies and release mass amounts of private information and details. The secret hacking group, Anonymous is a group of unknown hackers that have recently been hunted down by governments around the world (mainly the US and British). They should not be looked at as “domestic terrorists” but as protesting citizens. Terrorists put fear into people, but Anonymous interests the public. They have even been called “Digital Robin Hoods” (Carter, 2012). Since Anonymous mostly goes after companies and organizations they believe are corrupt or bad, and since they don't do any physical harm to anyone they should not be persecuted and put in jail. They release private information about the websites of companies, religious groups, and governments to show the public who they really are and what they are really doing. They also use a tactic called DDos which is basically where Anonymous overruns a website so much nobody else can then on go on that website.The U.S. government goes after anonymous hacktivists and similar groups but turns a blind eye to pro US/anti Terrorist hackers. A con of what Anonymous does is that when they release private government documents via Wikileaks or different sources, other governments like China and Russia can access the information released which can possibly be threatening to the U.S.

Anonymous, an infamous hacktivist group. Their slogan “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” Now, one can come to think that they kind of sound like an underground rebel group. Which is what they are, but they do it all via the internet. Once must also think, “well how do they do it all via internet and not get caught?” They tunnel all their nodes and logs through private networks and encrypted chats. You may ask, what do they fight for? Well it’s obvious, they all fight for one thing: Freedom and a proper Government. You can come to this conclusion just by taking a peek at their tweets, videos, speeches, and etc. It’s obvious that Anonymous’s intended audience is anyone they can reach out to, not only does this hacktivist group focus on American problems, but they also take third world countries problems into consideration. So, with all this information, you’re probably thinking, “well how do they solve America’s problems?” Anonymous isn’t only a group that just tweets hashtags, and what not. Anonymous is loosely organized group of hackers that attempt to use their skills to make a change. But, not all Anonymous members are hackers, some join just to promote what the cause. For example: @YouAnonNews on twitter, tweets operations that are going on, and daily news that has grabbed the attention of Anonymous.

Hackers have caused the government billions of dollars in damage over time and leaking tens of thousands of sensitive documents, most for sport. Although not all hackers are out there to cause damage; the Hacktavist group Anonymous is a group that strives to protect the users of the Internet. When many people think of hackers they automatically think they are doing it for nefarious reasons, they are unaware that most hackers actually help protect and improve the everyday life we have through the internet by not only strengthening the sites we use everyday, but also taking down known black hat sites and even protecting civil right by allowing us to see the vital information withheld from us by the government.

Target Corporation was founded in 1962 and employs 366,000 people as of 2014 nationwide. The CEO of the corporation is Gregg Steinhafel and the company primarily operates in Canada and the United States of America. The Target tradition is an implicit culture that always carried with it more than just a bag of technical tricks. Target transmitted a set of values that radiated beauty and good design when it pertains to sales in the retail market. Target was referred to as one of the giant in the retail industry. An online magazine talks about Target reputation by stating that this retail store is among the most recognized retailers in the United States, with both a symbol (bull’s eyes), store mascot (bulldog) and store color (red) that most consumers identify with without even saying or seeing the Target name (Leinbach-Reyhle, 2014). The reputation of target far precedes its name in all of the United States of America. Target retail stores stands out because of its utmost customer service and its willingness to create an in store experience that encourages you to spend money and keep coming back to spend. Target aims at providing discounted items to customers has contributed immensely to its long role of success for many years. Overall the net worth of net as at 2013 was estimated that the company made $72.6 billion in 2013. No wonder hackers knew Target was “a juicy fruit to suck”. The amount of revenue generated by

Externally, hackers gather information for their own personal gain and to pose a great threat from outside of the business or person’s home because they can find access into the system a lot easier with new advanced technology. Over time, computer hacking has grown into something that is essentially a worldwide problem in countries like North Korea, Russia, the United States, and China that is. Overall, some of these countries are trying to eliminate and capture hackers and produce a stronger, more secure-based program for all of the computer platforms. By taking these hackers off the market it can control the large amount of hackers that are roaming around the internet looking for an open system to invade and get information from. In other words, people throughout the world can claim that hackers that hack people and businesses are doing the world justice by exploiting what they are hiding from the public. That’s false. The fact is, that people and businesses do it so they can have a form of privacy outside of just printing and storing some documents that could end up getting lost.

It is not a secret that some of the largest of United States events are skewed based upon media bias and general misinformation provided by the outlets. When a group of individuals uses their tools to create a blueprint for social change they use it as a call to arms for political and social activists to begin a non-physical clash with the oppressive force. This is exactly what Anonymous, a small organization of hacktivists fighting in the new medium, is all about. Hacktivism is defined as “ the nonviolent use for political ends of ‘illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools’ like website defacements, information theft, website parodies, DoS attacks, virtual sit-ins, and virtual sabotage”, which is exactly what Anon is doing (Hampson 514). They take lessons stemming

When people hear the words “National Cyber Defense” and “Government Cyber Surveillance”, I’m sure the common image that comes to mind is a room of employees hidden somewhere in the depths of a concrete room, headphones on with little more than the soft hue of computer screens lighting the endless clickity-clack of keys typing out endless lines of code. Somehow, we, as a country, have convinced ourselves that we belong in this exclusive “internet” stronghold, in which we are free from the attacks of various state actors. However, the headlines that have plastered American media for the past months would suggest otherwise. “Clinton Email Server Risked Instructions” reads one. Another, “Feds identify ‘second leaker’ to Snowden Journalists”, graces the front page of many news outlets websites.

In the U.S. alone, government and private targets are pummeled by hundreds of thousands of hacking attempts every hour. Most of the hacks are directed or sponsored by nation states; the two worst culprits are China and Russia. Luckily, so far they have only figured out how to use the internet to proselytize. If hackers can further their attacks they could wreak absolute havoc economically, politically, and physically. The government has recruited more than 6,000 hackers to the U.S. Cyber Command, a military unit responsible for both combating and waging hack attacks. These hackers that work for the government are always trying to get one step ahead of other hackers, but it is hard to tell what they could do next. This could also increase the

Despite the numerous arrest and prosecutions of members of their networks, the hacktivists continued to be an integral internet activist within the international system.The state and other interested powers are keen to keep secrets of social injustice and hide the truth that may turn the masses against them. In this view, (Beck 3) observes that the widely supported legislative actions seeking to limit the operations and create a prosecution framework for hacktivists. On the same note,(Kelly) confirms that the despite the considerable use of the internet by individuals; it is still dominated by corporations. The internet is seen to provide a convenient meeting point for activists pushing for different interests to converge and come up with ways to fight against the government and influential businesses. Hacktivism provides a safe space for activists to breed and carry out their activities to the disadvantage of the state. As (Li 310) highlights, there are currently over forty statutes created for computer crimes. Principally, these legislations are

What Ben Mekuch and Patrick McGuire explained within this article is how there are “good hackers” out there defending America from the “bad hackers.” Ben and Patrick have stated that the multi-factioned hacktivist force known as Anonymous have been at a cyberwar with the terrorist group ISIS since of June 2014. Anonymous’ battle with IS had some successes however, Anonymous have only been attacking IS Twitter, Facebook, and other social media accounts with DDos attacks. Even though these slowed down IS members down, Ben and Patrick have reported and said, “Anonymous defaming or destroying an IS-linked Twitter account could mean very little: fighters just make new accounts and keep living online.” [Par. 21] As for now, Ben and Patrick are patiently

These individuals are often malicious and have many means at their disposal for breaking into a [computer] system”(Dictionary.com). The third type is called a phreaker. “A phreaker is a [hacker] who engages in the art of phreaking” : [frddk-ing phone phreak] Phreaking is the art and science of cracking the telephone network so as, for example, to make free long-distance phone calls”(Dictionary.com).

The issue of public information has always been a controversy in our world. One of our country’s founding arguments was based on the necessity of free speech and free information. Many now believe that our government is being overly restrictive on information, blocking and controlling some aspects of free speech that first amendment advocates feel are necessary to maintain our American society. These advocates of free information have been using the nickname “hackers” for over twenty years, but improper use by the media has stretched the word to slanderous levels. Hackers are now stereotyped as mindless vandals and miscreants, although the word “hacker” has been used as a term for computer