2008年1月21日 星期一

Hacktivism

Hacktivism refers to hacking with / for a cause. It is a kind of electronic civil disobedience in which activists take direct action by breaking into or protesting with government or corporate computer system. It can also considered as a kind of information warfare, and it is on the rise. The hacktivists consider their obligation to bring an offline issue close to their agenda into the online world. The apparent increase in hacktivism may be due in part to the growing importance of the internet as a means of communication.

Internet hacktivists believe that the "state sponsored censorship of the internet erodes peaceful and civilized coexistence, affects the exercise of democracy, and endangers the socioeconomic development of nations". For instance, they may have agendas that consider "state-sponsored censorship of the internet as a serious form of organized and systematic violence against citizens, intended to generate confusion and xeonophobia, and a reprehensible violation of trust". For instance, the Cult of the Dead Cow, an older security group states that their objective is to "study ways and means of circumventing state sponsored censorship of the internet and implementing technologies to challenge information right violations".

Most hacktivists aim at sending across a message through their hacking activity and gaining visibility for their cause and themselves. Common targets include government agancies, MNCs, or any other entity perceived as "bad" or "wrong" by these group / individuals. It remains a fact however, that gaining unauthorized access is a crime, no matter what the intents.

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