Hacktivism

What Is Hacktivism?

Hacktivism is a social or political activist act that is carried out by breaking into and unleashing devastation on a secure computer system. Hacktivism is a mix of "hacking" and "activism" and is said to have been instituted by the hacktivist group Cult of the Dead Cow.

Grasping Hacktivism

Hacktivism is typically directed at corporate or government targets. Individuals or groups that carry out hacktivism are alluded to as hacktivists. Hacktivists' targets incorporate strict organizations, fear mongers, street pharmacists, and pedophiles.

An illustration of hacktivism is a denial of service attack (DoS) which closes down a system to prevent customer access. Different models include furnishing citizens with access to government-blue-penciled web pages or giving privacy-safeguarded means of communication to undermined groups, (for example, Syrians during the Arab Spring).

Hacktivists' methods might incorporate distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which flood a website or email address with such an excess of traffic that it briefly closes down; data theft; website ruination; computer infections and worms that spread protest messages; assuming control over social media accounts, and taking and unveiling [sensitive data](/personally-recognizable information-pii).

There is conflict inside the hacktivist community over which procedures are suitable and which are not. For instance, while hacktivists might claim supporting free discourse as an important reason, the utilization of DoS attacks, website ruinations, and data theft that impede or prevent free discourse might be in conflict with that goal.

The methods hacktivists use are unlawful and are a form of cybercrime. Yet they frequently are not prosecuted in light of the fact that they are rarely investigated by law enforcement. It very well may be difficult for law enforcement to recognize the hackers and damages that follow will generally be minor.

Hacktivist attacks themselves are not rough and don't put protestors at risk of physical mischief, not at all like participating in a street protest, yet hacktivism could prompt brutality at times.

Hacktivism likewise makes it conceivable to support geologically far off causes without going there and permits geologically distributed individuals with common goals to join together and act in support of a shared goal.

Hacktivism might be utilized as a substitute for or supplement to traditional forms of activism, for example, demonstrations and protest walks. Possess Wall Street and the Church of Scientology protests included both the physical presence of supporters in the streets and online attacks.

Types of Hacktivism

Hacktivists utilize a great many devices and procedures to pursue their goals. They can incorporate actions like:

Doxing: In this method, hacktivists gather sensitive information about a specific person or organization and unveil it.
Publishing content to a blog anonymously: This tactic is principally utilized by informants, journalists, and activists to carry light to a specific issue while keeping up with privacy.
DoS and DDoS attacks: This tactic expects to flood targeted computer systems or organizations to prevent users from accessing them.
Information leaks: In this tactic, an insider source with access to sensitive or classified information (that embroils a specific individual or organization) unveils it.
Website replication: This method tries to mirror a genuine website, utilizing a somewhat unique URL, to dodge control rules.

Hacktivism Goals

Hacktivism's goals incorporate the accompanying:

Evading government restriction by assisting citizens with getting around national firewalls or aiding protestors to sort out online
Utilizing social media platforms to advance human rights or assist edited citizens of severe systems with speaking with the outside world
Bringing down government websites that represent a threat to politically active citizens
Protecting free discourse online
Elevating access to information
Supporting citizen uprisings
Helping computer users in protecting their privacy and keeping away from surveillance through secure and anonymous organizations like Tor and the Signal informing application
Disturbing corporate or government power
Assisting unlawful outsiders with crossing borders securely
Supporting majority rules system
Protesting globalization and private enterprise
Protesting acts of war
Ending the financing of terrorism.

Hacktivist Groups

While there are huge number of hacktivist groups worldwide, a portion of the better-known from the 1990s to the current day incorporate Cult of the Dead Cow, Hacktivismo, Lulz Security (Lulz Sec), Anonymous, Legion of Doom, The Electronic Disturbance Theater, Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism, Syrian Electronic Army, and AnonGhost.

We should investigate a portion of the major hacktivist groups.

Anonymous

Anonymous(/anonymous-web group) is perhaps the most notorious and notable hacktivist group, widely recognized for its digital attacks against governments and government institutions, large corporations, and, surprisingly, the Church of Scientology.

Army of Doom (LOD)

Made in 1984, Legion of Doom developed to be one of the most persuasive hacking groups in mechanical history. The group is best known for distributing the Hacker Manifesto, frequently refered to as the motivation for a flood of new hackers.

Bosses of Deception (MOD)

Based out of New York, the Masters of Deception (MOD) is best known for hacking into and taking advantage of a large number of telephone companies. All individuals were eventually prosecuted in 1992 in federal court.

Chaos Computer Club

With approximately 5,500 registered individuals, Chaos Computer Club is Europe's largest association of hackers. Generally speaking, Chaos Computer Club advocates for government transparency and freedom of information.

The most effective method to Prevent Hacktivism

To prevent hacktivism, think about a portion of the accompanying advances:

List and distinguish all sensitive/basic information in your environment
Perform an audit of your environment consistently
Carry out multi-factor authentication systems for sign in websites
Invest in security software or even a firewall
Teach all staff and contractors/sellers on the right storage, management, and cancellation of data
Execute response procedures and policies on account of an actual attack

Real-World Example of Hacktivism

One of the most notable instances of hacktivism in real life is when Julian Assange, organizer behind the notorious WikiLeaks, released an assortment of emails between Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager.

The emails were said to have come from a group of Russian hackers whose objective was to tilt the election in Donald Trump's approval.

The spilled emails negatively impacted the Clinton campaign, with many accusing her loss largely on the occurrence. The Department of Justice eventually arraigned 12 Russian hackers for the email hacks.

WikiLeaks' broadly useful is the defense of freedom of discourse and media distributing, the improvement of our historical record, and the support of people groups' right to make new history.

Features

Hacktivists utilize a great many methods to pursue their goals including doxing, denial of service attacks (DoS), anonymous publishing content to a blog, information holes, and website replication.
Hacktivism's goals incorporate avoiding government control by assisting citizens with getting around national firewalls (or aiding protestors arrange) and utilizing social media platforms to advance human rights.
Hacktivism includes breaking into a computer system and making changes that influence a person or organization.
A few activists, for example, Occupy Wall Street and the Church of Scientology protestors, use hacktivism notwithstanding in-person protests.
Targets range from strict organizations to street pharmacists and pedophiles.
The absolute most widely realized hacktivist groups incorporate Anonymous, Legion of Doom (LOD), Masters of Deception (MOD), and Chaos Computer Club.