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| Hacktivism – The ‘ism’ of Technocrats | | | Abhigya Mahajan
In a 1995 article about New Media artist Shu Lea Cheang’s film Fresh Kill, writer Jason Sack first coined the term hacktivism. The term, however, is often attributed to Cult of the Dead Cow member “Omega,” who used it in a 1996 e-mail to the group. Derived from combining the words ‘Hack’ and ‘Activism’, it is the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for politically or socially motivated purposes. The definition of hacktivism is nebulous due to the variety of meanings of its root words, and there is significant disagreement over the types of activities and purposes it encompasses. The individual who performs an act of hacktivism is said to be a hacktivist. Hacktivists who participate in such actions (such as sabotaging an organization’s website or divulging information about an organization), aims to send a message and gain visibility for a cause they support.
Government agencies, multinational corporations, and any other entity perceived as ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ by the hacktivist group or individual are common targets. Obtaining unauthorized access to any organization’s assets through such activities is, of course, a criminal act, regardless of the intent. Mainly, hacking is triggered by individuals or groups’ perception of what they consider to be “wrong” or “unfair”, so they are encouraged to do something about it. Motivations include revenge, political or social motives, ideology, protest, the desire to embarrass certain organizations or individuals in these organizations, or sometimes purely destructive behavior. In general, hacker groups aim to question, provoke and challenge governments, organizations, and companies that violate ethical standards.
There are many hacktivist groups around the world, all with the goal of disrupting or exposing the inner workings of government or private organizations in the name of transparency and the public good. The most well-known of these hacktivist groups is dubbed ‘Anonymous’. The ‘Anonymous’ hacktivist group, founded in 2008, rose to prominence after leaking a video involving Tom Cruise on YouTube, exposing the Church of Scientology organization. Following requests from Church of Scientology executives to remove the video, Anonymous continued with a Distributed Denial of Service attack that brought the Church’s website down. Since then, the group has continued their campaigns of nonviolent online protests with a steady stream of DDoS attacks, even targeting the terrorist group ISIS in their efforts to bring their version of justice to the rest of the world.
What is the difference between cyber terrorism and hacktivism?
The concept of cyber terrorism is surrounded by various ideas. Online directed action to protest a specific cause has been labeled cyber terrorism in some cases. Civil disobedience is evolving into Electronic Civil Disobedience (ECD) in order to practice sociopolitical resistance within digital networks. One point of contention is whether computer hacking for political activism should be classified as cyber terrorism. Because hacktivism and Internet vandalism do not directly threaten victims’ lives and livelihoods, they may be incorrectly labeled as cyber terrorism. Website defacement can be considered a form of digital vandalism, and it was originally done to boost the attacker’s ego. As a result, the impact of ‘Internet anarchy’ influences whether a digital attack can be classified as an act of cyber terrorism. Because cyber terrorism is frequently confused with hacktivism and ECD, it is important to consider the context of cyber terrorism. Hacktivists are politically motivated, and they target institutions that hold opposing political views to their own. They most commonly use a Dos attack to overload a server until it crashes. Cyber terrorists target systems in order to disrupt or destroy a specific nation’s, sector’s, or organization’s critical services and infrastructure. Hacktivists may hack to demonstrate their support for a specific cause or issue by interfering with services. Sites may be closed down, or corporate information may be revealed. As a result, serious damage is rarely carried out. Cyber terrorists take it a step further by attacking critical infrastructure and services, causing widespread damage and shock.
Some of the infamous hacktivist campaigns:
In June 2020, In support of the major social and political movement Black Lives Matter, the Anonymous group coined, Anon released a video on Twitter specifically criticizing the Minneapolis Police Department. And as a result the Minneapolis Police Department website, its parent website, and the Buffalo, New York, government site disabled over the course of a weekend.
Hacktivists protesting the Iranian election – Hacktivists operating outside of Iran targeted the Iranian government and other state-sponsored websites in this DDoS attack. As a result, the Iranian government blocked access to various social networking sites in order to prevent netizens from reporting on the current state of affairs on the ground.
Russian hacktivists targeting Social Networks hosting Georgian blogger – by using DDoS attacks, to bring down social network services such as Facebook and Twitter. This was their retaliation campaign against a controversial Georgian blogger who had accounts on these networks.
Hacktivism has evolved over time into a powerful virtual weapon capable of causing massive disruptions in day-to-day operations. As a result, businesses and organizations must ensure that all IT systems, operating systems, applications, and websites are regularly updated. It also aids in the collection and analysis of anomalies in network activity to aid in the mitigation of threats.
In addition, to maintain a “human firewall,” implement appropriate technical controls and properly educate the staff. Looking ahead, hacktivism is far too unpredictable to be able to predict a potential attack with any degree of certainty—so it is best to remain vigilant against this era’s cyber vigilantes. |
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