Cyber Activism and Hacktivism - Essay Example

Cyber Activism and Hacktivism Cyber Activism and Hacktivism Cyber activism entails the use of internet to undertake ordinary activities while pursuing specific agendas or goals. Cyber activism does not disrupt other processes that other users may be undertaking. Hacktivism refers to a combination of hacking activities and activism. Activism as part of hacktivism refers to the fact that the user undertakes hacking activities with a specified goal in mind. Unlike actual activism, hacktivism seeks to invade a target site and disrupt normal activities (Denning, 1999). Hacktivism harbors ill intent while activism does not intent to cause damage to other users. Activism involves a range of activities from online search for information, creating and feeding data to new or already existing websites, conducting communication via internet publications or emailing of letters, forming online forums to discuss various issues or coordinating certain activities. Hacktivism activities involve virtual blockades, email bombing, hacking web sites or breaking into computers systems, planting computer worms and viruses. The activities of activism are keen on developing the internet as a useful tool for social progress and policymaking. However, hackvists activities stem from anger and seek to destroy what is created by activism. Activities of activism Collection The internet offers a vast body of information that would take one a lot of time and energy to search manually. Business corporations, organizations, governments and teaching institutions avail information on the internet that is easily accessible by the target audience or any other person interested in the data. The offered information extends beyond geographical demarcation. One can access the information necessary to facilitate his mission. Researchers use this collection of information to argue or prove their theses. While an activist will use this information to improve himself or the society, a hacktivist will seek to destroy this collection of information (Denning, 1999). Publication Various humanity groups such as non-governmental organizations, civil boards and self-help groups publish information in the internet for the public to see. Some businesses such as luxury brand companies employ this technique to promote their products to the vast body of potential customers using the internet. Depending on the organization involved, some will post or publish information on public web sites or may develop their own site where they publish information on regular basis (Denning, 1999). Private websites provoke the anger or interest of hackers who hack to phish information they are not supposed to obtain. Dialogue Web has transformed the globe into a “village.” Communication is faster and easier. Geographical distances and barriers no longer mar or slow down conveying of information from one location to another (Denning, 1999). An individual at one end of the globe can chat with another at the opposite end using emails or skype. A person undertaking such activity is an activist. Another person may decide to create programs or undertake certain activities that will cause problems to this form of communication, the hacktivist, by means of blockades, worms and viruses. Activity coordination Advocacy groups or organizations utilize internet services to supervise and manage activities of their groups. The groups act as activists in this context. They may include top management of Multinational Corporation that holds online teleconference meetings, check an individual’s performance, convey orders and directives to lower managers or check progress of their mission. Advocacy groups use these techniques to organize riots and demonstrations on national, regional or global basis (Denning, 1999). These techniques are available in the web. Activists use them in bid to attain certain goals. Hacktivists will resort to web site destruction and information distortion to gain attention. Hacktivism activities Virtual blockades and sit-ins According to Denning (1999), Sit-ins refer to mobilization of multitudes of people to visit a certain web site with intent of causing so much traffic that the usual activities that rely on the web sites paralyze. The intent of lobbying into the web site is not to use it, like activists, but rather to block its use. Blockades operate in a similar manner. Specific programs are designed to log in a computer to the target sites every few seconds to generate the desired traffic in the absence of hacktivist. Email bombs Email bombing is a form of blockade whose interest is specific email accounts instead of web sites. The hacktivists send multiple of email to target accounts on daily basis causing so much traffic such that filtering the useless emails becomes impossible. The usual important communication paralyzes. The targeted user cannot receive emails from clients, friends or partners. Additionally, one cannot send any either (Denning, 1999). Email bombing is achievable in two ways. Several people can each send several emails, or an automated system on several computers can send unrelenting messages to the target email address. Hacking webs and computer break-ins Hacktivists deploy certain software and tricks to gain un-authorized access to target web sites allowing them to distort the information presented. Their intention is to view the classified contents or to alter them mislead other users or to make their presence known. Due to tampering of data in the host site, normal operations halt or appear misguided. The hacktivists may as well hack a site and change the domains address such that visitors to the site are redirected to another alien site (Denning, 1999). Computer break-in refers to the ability of a hacktivist to gain access, download or post data on a distant computer when its user is online. Computer worms and viruses Worms and viruses are software used by hacktivists to propagate angry messages or damage computer systems. Worms spreads on their own accord once introduced to the system whereas viruses come attached on a file that gains access to the target system or computer (Denning, 1999). While an activist would send a clean file copy to a recipient, the hacktivist sends the file accompanied by the corrupting software. Real life hacktivism case On September 12, 2001, Canada authorities charged a 17-years-old boy, famously known as mafiaboy, with unauthorized computer use and mischief with regard to data propagation. Allegedly, the teen had crippled CNN’s, Yahoo’s, Amazon’s, Dell’s and eBay’s web sites from 7 - 15 of February 2002. The attack on Yahoo was the first. The youngster used email-bombs-like attacks on Yahoo numerous communication channels overburdening its servers. As a result, communication via yahoo paralyzed. As a multibillion industry that provided a search engine used across the web by multitudes of people, various processes stopped affecting not only yahoo but also the public and corporate businesses. The boy’s intention was to create awareness of a web site he had opened. The website was shut down. He retaliated by shutting down CNN, eBay, Dell and Amazon intermittently over the following one week. Conclusion Cyber activism is described as the use of the internet to pursue specific agendas or goals. The constituent processes include activity coordination, dialogue, publication and collection. The process is harmless because it does not affect other internet users. However, hacktivism refers to a combination of hacking activities and activism that affects users. The acts include hacking webs, computer break-ins, computer worms, viruses, email bombs, virtual blockades and sit-ins. The mafia boy case is a typical example of hacktivism. References Denning, D. E. (1999). Activism, Hacktivism and cyberterrorism. The Internet as a Tool for influencing Foreign policy , 50. Read More