Forms of Hacktivism

When many people think of the world hacktivism, they may think of the word hacking. Hacking refers to illegally breaking into a person(s) computer. Although they are similar words, hacktivism differs from hacking. Hacktivism refers to the legal or illegal use of computers and networks as a means of political protest. It is important to note that hacktivism can be a perfectly legal action, like writing on a Facebook page, whereas hacking somebody's computer or network is very illegal.

There are many different forms of hacktivism that a person can engage in. I will demonstrate a few different forms with examples found on the web.

1) Defacing a web page

Here you can see that the website for current Security of Defence for the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon has been defaced. Although difficult to see in this image, the right side of the website, where the quote is, has been changed to reflect a political groups views rather than Moons.

2) Email bombing

In this example, we can see that the hacktivists have send numerous emails to the same account to annoy the recipient of the emails. Normally, the emails will contain links to websites that the hacktivists support. 

3) Web sit-ins

In this final example of a form of hacktivism, hacktivists attempt to send ample amount of traffic to one website to that their servers are so overwhelmed that they have no choice than to shut down. This tactic is often used against a website that has made a controversial political statement that the hacktivists disagree with. 

In conclusion, there are many forms of hacktivism that hacktivists use to disrupt a political event, party or action. As everyday computer users, it is important that we are aware of these forms so that we do not jeopardize the security of our own personal computers.

Matthew Dicker