Hacktivism

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hacktivism ( suitcase word from hack and activism , English hacktivism ) is as a variation of cyber activism the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest in order to achieve political and ideological goals.

history

The member Omega of the hacker collective Cult of the Dead Cow is considered to be the originator of the term "hacktivism", which it mentioned for the first time in an email in July 1998. From then on, activists coined the definition of the term, which refers to the development and use of technology to promote human rights and the open exchange of information.

The Wissenschaftswochenzeitung Spektrum.de , an online publication by Spektrum der Wissenschaft , reports that at least the closely related term "hacktivist" must have been in use as early as 1995 and cites the first reference in the Oxford English Dictionary :

Ever since 1990, when about 300 queers descended on the park at the behest of a local computer hacktivist unfortunately named Doug Swallow, gays and lesbians have annually stormed the Magic Kingdom - with the tacit encouragement from the management. [James Hannaham, Deep Disney: Gay day in the Magic Kingdom, The Village Voice, June 27, 1995]

The first use of "Hacktivist" in German-speaking countries was identified by Spektrum.de in an article dated September 23, 1998 in the online publication Telepolis .

differences

Some people who describe themselves as hacktivists use attacks on websites for political purposes, for example to deface the websites of political opponents or groups. Depending on how the term is used, hacktivism can also be understood as civil disobedience or a general rejection of the system.

Types of hacktivism

In order to express their opinion and achieve the appropriate effect, hacktivists use various tools and methods and often software that is freely available on the Internet (some can be downloaded, some as a web application in the browser). Methods include:

  • Defacement of websites: In this case, the homepage of a website is significantly changed in order to damage the respective company or institution.
  • Distributed Denial-of-Service : In this case, a website is flooded with requests, often making it inaccessible for hours or days.
  • E-mail spamming: Hacktivists spam the target's e-mail addresses with pointless or very large e-mail messages.
  • Black fax, engl. "Black Fax": Similar to a DDoS attack, a black fax is sent that requires a lot of toner or ink and strains the telephone lines.
  • Hacking databases and online locations of their content.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Hacktivism and How It Got Here" ( Memento from January 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Michelle Delio, wired.com , July 14, 2004, accessed June 1, 2017
  2. a b Hacktivism Candidate for Anglicism of the Year , Anatol Stefanowitsch, Spektrum.de, January 29, 2012, accessed June 6, 2016
  3. Infowar and political activism - Is a golden age of "hacktivism" breaking out? September 23, 1998, Florian Rötzer, Telepolis, accessed June 6, 2016
  4. http://pastebin.com/dQDzqAHM
  5. http://www.techpavan.com/2009/08/17/what-black-fax-black-fax-attack-why-how-to-do-black-fax/