The Pros And Cons Of Hacktivism

In the early days of computing, a hacker was primarily referred to as a computer guru, someone who is extremely technical with a high expertise in computer also known as “Expert Programmers”. Nevertheless, as technology is advancing at a face pace, hacking has adopted a completely different definition. The modern definition is someone who access a computer system primarily to steal or destroy information. Hacking has caused major harm in the realm of technology. Over the years, hackers have become much more lethal in their craft. They manage to break into complex information systems from entities such as banks, government agencies, and private businesses. Furthermore, they often manipulate their victims through social engineering in order to obtain financial benefits. Hackers hold different label such as: black hat hacker and white hat hacker in which all have their own motives.

The word hacking, usually associated with information technology, is a term used for the development of creative solutions for a problem by someone in a non-professional environment. With the introduction of personal computers and the internet, anyone could create solutions to problems in computer science. This led to the emergence of “hacker culture”, leading to the decentralization of computer industry (Hicks, 2014).

Coleman: How do hacking and openness relate to "social informatics" "joint responsibility" and "extended agency" .

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.

The goal is to inform the public of the facts about hackers and the influences from pop culture and mainstream media that have changed society’s perception of hackers over time. I will also discuss statistical data about society’s fear of hackers and how it has changed the perception of hackers. If I can convince the readers that hackers are responsible for many of the technological innovations over the last 50 years, it will help me argue my point and hopefully persuade people to reconsider their opinions of hackers. The ultimate goal is to persuade people to redefine their definition of hackers and hope that society will use the correct classifications when reporting about them or describing their character in pop culture, but I would be satisfied if I could just create a platform for the next step on the road to change. One thing that absolutely amazed me was the amount of new information that is created and distributed every year. I learned that it is important to make sure that the message is strong and loud so it will not be lost amongst all the other information. An argument must be clear and maintain focus so that the audience will not become disinterested or

The Facebook,Instagram, and Twitter social media sites with passwords that can be hacked no matter the “strength” of the password. Peter Ludlow effectively persuades using ethos,logos and pathos in the reading What is a ‘Hacktivist’? By talking about events that have happened to “Hacktivist” in the recent years due to “Lexical Warfare.” Lexical Warfare irs a phrase that I like to use for battles over a term is to be understood. When people think of hackers, the first thing to mind is people who sit on computers all day and steal information from everyone possible. The previous sentence provides an example of how people think of the word “hacker” because of what media tells people. It either gives them a good thought if you think “hacktivist” are doing right or unpleasing thought because it makes people feel unsafe since hackers can hack into whatever they please.

18. Instead of being motivated by a desire to prove their art, hackers today are motivated by ____ and political ends.

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

Despite Kenneth argues that hacktivism is morally impermissible due to its moral disvalue by referring that hacker are trying to get away from punishment and negatively affect innocent third party, I believe that non-malicious hacktivism is morally permissible. I will attack her points by arguing if the intellectual property rights is unnecessary, there will not be any legitimate punishments. Then from the utilitirism side, I will discuss the moral value or benefits of hacktivism is over its moral disvalue to the whole society.

Adam Segal’s “The Hacked World Order” reveals many prevalent issues in today’s technologically centered society. Starting at Year Zero, June 2012 to June 2013, the battle over cyberspace witnessed world-changing cyberattacks. This was accomplished due to the fact that nearly 75% of the world’s population has easy access to a mobile phone, and the Internet connects nearly 40% of the total human population, which is nearly 2.7 billion people. With that being said, cyberattacks are becoming a more realistic form of terror.

Though the First Amendment protects the freedom of expression [1], not all speech is protected by law.  What if material on the Internet advocates illegal conduct or issues threats of violence?  What if information such as bomb-making instructions helps someone carry out a threat of violence?  As stated in the preceding scenario-report, the controversial website Anarchist Fever inspired amateur anarchist Paul Berkowicz, to build a bomb (with instructions found on the internet) and blow up a federal courthouse.  Obviously, he will be punished for his actions, but the issue now is what will become of the websites that helped him etch his name in infamy?  What can be done about digital conspirators who hide behind free expression?  Often, there can be no direct link established between such websites and physical crimes they inspire.  When deciding about these gray areas of free speech on the internet, we must consider issues such as regulation of the Internet, the extent of free speech, and established legal precedent.  These are the real factors that determine whether or not content of the Internet is objectionable enough to be censored or even criminally punished.

The film Killswitch was about the government trying to monopolize and control user traffic on the internet. Whether it is for security purposes or financial gain, our system of democracy is being compromised at a technological level. Several speakers including Tim Wu, expressed how “hacktivism” was a revolutionary tool used to take a stand against government interference.

The agencies employed by governments to police the web in order to protect the vulnerable have seen an increase in child pornography and online fraud. The speed at which information can be distributed and the number of people that can be reached attracts those that are intent on causing harm. The term “cybercrime” is becoming more widely used. The financial gains that can be made and the anonymity the internet can provide, make the virtual world of cyberspace a haven for criminals. Although the internet has huge benefits for information gathering and social networking, in the wrong hands it can cause harm to the vulnerable and criminals are able to vanish into the underground with the use of false identities that are hard to track online.

The ethical issues surrounding hacking, stem from several sources mainly dealing with order and control, and information ownership. What is difficult to decipher from all the media hoopla surrounding the terms, "hacker" and "hacking" is both the simultaneous sensationalism and the condemnation of said activities. Of course just recently, even a movie was made and was appropriately called Hackers. The term and all that it implies has truly entered our popular consciousness when Hollywood has made a box office movie on it. As the advancement of computer technologies and systems of information become increasingly more and more complex in today's fast paced modern world and said technologies become an integral

As the world becomes more and more reliant on computers the computer hacking industry is greatly rising. With people such as Kevin Mitnick, who is known as a "computer terrorist" (Kjochaiche 1), computerized information isn't safe any more. Kevin is known as "the most high-profiled computer criminal and responsible for more havoc in the computer world today."(1) He considered this a fun and easy task. He got caught and thrown into prison, but once he got out nothing changed. Kevin stated that as long as the technology is there it just calls to people to break into it. Computer hackers usually start off young, thinking that it is nothing but a little harmless fun. But as they get older, they realize it has turned into