THe Hacktivism Movement

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Most people imagine a hacker as some socially awkward kid, usually male, isolated in his parent’s basement. They are also often described as criminals, thieves, or cyber-terrorist. You would be wrong if you also thought the majority of hackers only used their skills to cause harm. That they use their skills to exploit peoples confidential to steal other people’s information. I belief not all hackers should be labeled with the infamous reputation of their namesake. Just like cheaters at a casino, casinos will often times hire the culprits. Having changed sides, the cheaters then use their skills to identify other alleged cheaters. Major corporations worldwide use this same tactic when it comes to hackers. Hackers are constantly monitoring their companies’ network, checking for any vulnerabilities. So, is there such a thing as ethical hacking? Do the ends justify the means? Hacktivism is the the practice of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system and carrying out various disruptive actions as a means of achieving political or social goals (Dictionary.com).
Anonymous, as a group, is best described as a loosely knit group of hackers. “They are kind of the rude boys of hacktivism,” says Gabriela Coleman, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University (We Are Legion Wiki). The group traces their origins to an online website called “4Chan.” This website is a discussion forum broken down into numerous categories. The “/b/” board, or random board, is a place where users can post comments and pictures anonymously with no restrictions or censors. Hence the name Anonymous, as if all the post on that specific board were posted by one person. Anonymous began as a collective group of pranksters. Their most n...

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...panies, or institutions that revealed their unlawful acts could only be obtained by a hacker. In the case of Hal Turner, lives were probably saved because he was hacked. Taking up the banner of freedom of speech and protesting, like in Project Chanology, should be considered a benevolent act. Exposing the corrupt individuals in power and exposing their abusive plans before they are implemented ultimately serves to better society.

Works Cited

hacktivism. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hacktivism
We Are Legion (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2014 from the We Are Legion Wiki: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/We_Are_Legion
Know Your Meme. (n.d). Trolling. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from the You’re your Meme website: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/trolling

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